"Guh... gah..."
One of the adventurers hired as a guard was struck in the torso by the butt of Rei's Death Scythe and knocked unconscious.
Several guards lay collapsed around the area, but none of them were dead.
Some had fractures in their arms, legs, or ribs, but none of the injuries were life-threatening.
Since they had been hired as guards without knowing anything about the situation, Rei had decided there was no need to kill them.
That said, some of those Rei had defeated might actually have known about Dailas's affairs, but since there was no way to distinguish them, it couldn't be helped.
"Alright, the number of guards is thinning out, so the diversion is... hmm?"
Sensing someone approaching, Rei assumed it was another enemy and readied Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear. But the moment he recognized the figure, he lowered his weapons.
The person approaching was a face he had seen several times among the Fusetsu assassins.
"You're with Fusetsu, right? What is it?"
"I'm glad you remembered."
The assassin breathed a sigh of relief first and foremost that Rei had recognized him. If Rei had mistaken him for a complete stranger and attacked, the entire point of coming to fetch him in Crow's stead would have been lost. Alternatively, he might have ended up wasting valuable time trying to prove he was a member of Fusetsu.
Grateful that hadn't happened, he judged there was no time for idle pleasantries and stated his business bluntly.
"We've found what we believe to be a location holding evidence of Dailas's crimes, but the door leading to it is protected by a barrier. We'd like you to deal with it, Rei-san."
"A barrier, huh? If it's that heavily guarded, there's definitely something behind it."
So Rei said, though for a brief moment a thought crossed his mind—what if, just maybe, the barrier was so blatantly obvious precisely to draw attention away from something else? A decoy meant to lure in intruders?
Still, regardless of what Dailas might be thinking, if such a barrier existed, it needed to be destroyed. That much was certain.
"That seems highly likely. ...Besides, we haven't found anything else yet, so right now it's the only lead we have."
"Understood. Let's go, then. I don't know what kind of barrier it is, and I can't guarantee I'll be able to break it. But I'm probably the only one who can do anything about it at this point, right?"
"Yes, that's correct. That's why Crow sent me to fetch you."
Even as he said this, the assassin felt reassured seeing the confident expression on Rei's face. Rei had verbally hedged, saying he wasn't sure how it would turn out, but judging by his demeanor, it would probably be fine.
Seeing the assassin's relief, Rei glanced down at Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear. No matter how sturdy the barrier was, with these two weapons and his own magic power, dealing with it wouldn't be difficult.
"Lead the way. ...Actually, I should check in with Seto first."
The assassin looked slightly displeased at those words, but given that he had come to ask Rei for a favor, he couldn't exactly voice his dissatisfaction with the current situation. Besides, considering the diversion, it was undeniably a good idea to give Seto a heads-up.
"Understood."
In the end, the man agreed to Rei's proposal without protest.
With the assassin in tow, Rei headed toward Seto's location. Finding Seto required no searching at all—his cries had echoed from nearby just moments ago.
Sure enough, less than a few minutes after breaking into a run, Rei spotted Seto. They had parted ways at the gate, but in that short time, Seto had taken down a considerable number of opponents. Since Rei had asked him to avoid killing if possible, perhaps due to that instruction, most of those sprawled on the ground were groaning.
Some were silent, whether unconscious or dead. Rei couldn't tell, and it didn't particularly matter. He had asked Seto to avoid killing, but he hadn't demanded it.
"Seto!"
"Grrrrl!"
Hearing Rei's voice, Seto, who had been curiously pecking at a tree in the garden with his beak, padded happily toward him.
The reason Seto's cries had gone quiet was apparently that every adventurer who had come to take him down had already been wiped out. More guards lay defeated on the ground than Rei had personally felled. Rei wasn't surprised—this was only natural for Seto, and given how conspicuous he was, it made sense that more enemies would target him.
The assassin accompanying Rei, however, was stunned by the scene around them.
He had known Seto was a gryphon, a high-rank monster. Even so, witnessing such overwhelming power firsthand was beyond his expectations.
"This is... incredible..."
"It's Seto, so it's only natural. ...Seto, I've got some business to take care of inside the mansion. Judging by things here, it's probably fine, but if any guards are still lurking around, I'll leave them to you."
"Gruu!"
Leave it to me! Seto purred.
Rei gave Seto's head a pat, then turned his gaze back to the assassin.
"Alright, let's go. Lead the way. Is the room with the barrier far?"
"If we hurry, it won't take long. However, we're causing disturbances throughout much of the mansion right now to keep enemies from converging on the barrier room, so the possibility of running into enemies along the way can't be ruled out."
"Got it. Then let's hurry."
With that, Rei gave Seto one final pat before leaving the area with the assassin.
"Rei, sorry for calling you in so abruptly."
"Don't worry about it. It's a barrier only I can destroy, right? Then I'm not going to refuse."
Rei had come to Dailas's mansion to find evidence. Given that, if someone told him where the evidence was, going there was the obvious choice.
"There's no time to waste, so let's get straight to it. That's the barrier, right?"
Rei's gaze was fixed on a door revealed behind a displaced painting. Even to Rei's eyes, the presence of a barrier over that door was unmistakable.
"That's right. We can't break it ourselves. You're the only one we can ask. Can you do it?"
"Leave it to me."
After exchanging a few brief words with Crow, Rei stepped up to the door with Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear in hand. He channeled magic power into Death Scythe and slashed casually.
But those watching—Crow and his men—couldn't even follow the strike with their eyes. That was how razor-sharp Rei's swing was.
With a single stroke, the barrier protecting the door was severed effortlessly.
Rei himself was surprised, though not as much as Crow's group. Most barriers were cut through by Death Scythe without any resistance whatsoever. But this barrier had put up at least some fight against the blow.
The resistance was minimal—like cutting tofu with a kitchen knife, in Rei's estimation—but the fact that it had resisted at all was noteworthy. To Rei, that alone was surprising.
"Rei? How is it?"
Crow, still startled by the sharpness of Rei's strike, asked almost hesitantly. The outcome was easy enough to guess, but he wanted to hear it from the person who had actually done it.
"No problem. It's destroyed. So, what's the plan? There might be more barriers beyond this door, so should I stick with you a bit longer?"
"If you would. Sending you back only to call you again if we hit another barrier like this would be..."
Rei nodded readily at Crow's words. When it came to this mission, acting with caution was the smart move. If they actually found evidence but couldn't retrieve it because Rei wasn't there—that would be the worst-case scenario. Rei understood that perfectly, which was why he agreed to Crow's proposal without hesitation.
"Then I'll take point. That way I can respond quickly if anything happens."
Crow nodded at Rei's words. Honestly, the offer stung a little—it implied a lack of confidence in their own skills. But he had to accept it. After seeing the strike that cleaved the barrier, he couldn't bring himself to insist on going first.
"I'd appreciate that. We'll watch the rear and make sure no enemies sneak up behind us. I'll leave a decent number of people in this room, too, so I doubt we'll be attacked from behind easily."
"Just having you watch our backs is helpful enough."
When Rei said that, Crow nodded, and the members for the party heading beyond the door were decided. Rei, Crow, and two others—four in total.
Rei couldn't deny thinking they might want more people, but judging by the demeanor of Crow's group, this number was sufficient. If they deemed it adequate, Rei saw no need to interject.
"Alright, the four of us, then. Listen up—I'm opening the door. There could be traps, so stay sharp."
"Wait, if there are traps, aren't you the one who should be careful? You're the one walking point."
"That's the most likely scenario, but some traps are designed not to trigger for the point man. They let intruders let their guard down, then activate for whoever's behind them. So it's better for everyone to stay alert. Especially since whatever's beyond this door is something Dailas absolutely cannot afford to let fall into outside hands."
At Rei's words, Crow and the other two nodded with serious expressions. Given how carefully it had been hidden, it wouldn't be surprising if powerful traps—designed to kill any intruder without exception—lay waiting.
"Understood. We won't let our guard down."
Confirming Crow's nod, Rei reached for the door. The moment it opened, an arrow might come flying out—a poisoned one, even. That was what he braced for, but fortunately nothing of the sort happened. Beyond the door lay only a passage.
"Looks like opening the door alone isn't enough to trigger a trap. ...The question is what lies ahead. What kind of traps could be waiting? Well, no traps would be ideal, but who knows."
Muttering to himself, he studied what lay beyond the door. A passage roughly ten meters long stretched out before them, and given the situation, all they could do was stay on guard in case traps lurked within.
Crow's group readied themselves for whatever might come. But Rei, despite having said to stay cautious, showed no particular hesitation as he took his first step.
"Hey, Rei!?"
Not expecting him to set off so carelessly, Crow called out to his retreating back. But Rei showed no sign of concern as he proceeded down the passage.
"Staying cautious is one thing, but being too afraid to move forward is another. Besides, even as we stand here, Fusetsu's assassins are running around making a scene for your sake, right? Wasting time here is a bad move."
It seemed to contradict what Rei had said earlier about being careful. But given the circumstances, moving too timidly would only waste time—that was also a fact.
Judging this, Crow nodded to the two men accompanying him.
"Let's go."
The other two nodded and began moving forward. Mindful of Rei's warning about attacks coming from behind after the point man passed, they kept their senses sharply focused to the rear as well.
They advanced, ready to react instantly if anything happened... but after several meters with absolutely nothing occurring, doubt crept in.
"Rei, are there really traps here?"
"Who knows. Can't tell without actually moving forward. If I knew whether there were traps or not, dealing with them wouldn't be difficult, but..."
Hearing Rei's words, Crow conceded the point. Not knowing whether traps existed was exactly why they needed to be cautious, yet at the same time, thinking of their comrades raising havoc as a diversion meant they also needed to act boldly.
He understood that, yet still—
"Tch, dodge!"
At Rei's sudden shout, Crow, right behind him, was a split second too slow to react.