Chapter 48: Mission Start—Majestic Death

As all the Butlers, the Zoldycks, and the outside help—which includes Auren—gather, Zeno doesn’t speak. Instead, he looks at Illumi, slightly nodding his head.“I’ll briefly explain our plan. We Zoldycks will charge through the front entrance and lead the main assault on our target. There’s no need for you to do anything until you see the sign. I’ll not reveal the sign, but you’ll know when to act. In fact, you better not approach the castle at all before then, or you might die,” Illumi says in a lifeless, cold voice.

We will die? What is he talking about?

Illumi then turns to Auren and Larazul. His voice still holds no emotion. He continues coldly, without even a hint of feeling.

“The airship will land soon. When it does, you need to disembark quickly. Our butlers have maps and will guide you. Just get into position, guard the road leading to the back of the castle, and when the sign appears, you’ll know what to do. Auren and Larazul—you two are the only ones allowed to flee under certain conditions, and only if you judge it necessary. If Kolmata escapes through the back and tries to descend the mountain, and he’s accompanied by more than ten Nen users, you are to back off. We’ll be notified and will chase them down. If no one is heading in your direction, then you may enter the castle at your own discretion. However, you are expected to wait at least a while.”

“Understood,” Auren says, feeling quite satisfied with this plan, as it lets him avoid taking unnecessary risks.

Finally, Illumi speaks to the other two assassins, Greiffon and Dantu. “You two can just do your thing. Block the exits of the catacombs, use the butlers as you see fit, and kill anyone trying to escape. You’re also allowed to leave the catacombs after a while. That way we’ll be closing in from all directions.”

Silva nods at Illumi, seemingly satisfied with his son, while Zeno stays calm and composed.

“Any questions?” Illumi asks.

“This might be stupid, but do we just kill everyone we come across? Are there any civilians still around?” Auren asks, as he does not want to harm innocent servants.

“Anyone left is highly loyal and trusted by our target. There are no innocents remaining. Only those who’ve either spilled their own blood—or someone else’s—for Kolmata are still here,” Zeno chimes in. “In my entire career, I have never accidentally killed a bystander, and I intend to keep it that way. Anyone left is a valid target.”

Good! I guess I can take Zeno at his word. He does not seem like a hypocritical liar.

Everyone stays silent.

“Good. We’re landing in thirty minutes. You might want to get ready. Oh, before I forget—we’ll also distribute earpieces with integrated microphones. If you want to speak, press the button on the outer side of the device. It’s the newest technology, specially developed for special ops. The butlers will handle the connection. If you have something valuable to say, speak. Otherwise, remain silent,” Illumi says, his tone still eerily calm.

Auren turns to Larazul. “Since you’re my senior, I’ll follow your plan. I prefer working alone, but I’m not arrogant enough to ignore the advice of a veteran like you.”

Larazul responds, seemingly pleased. “Hmph. You’re a smart kid. Look, this’ll be easy. We’ll just kill anyone in our way. My style is swift, direct, and without setups. You back me up. The only decision we need to make is when to flee and when to enter the castle. Like that smug ghost kid said, if we see more than a couple Nen users, we back off.”

Sounds decent enough. If possible, I want to avoid risks.

The airship lands far away in a clearing within the forest that surrounds the castle, which is visible in the distance atop the mountain. Everyone disembarks except for a few butlers, along with Zeno, Silva, and Illumi. Auren and Larazul follow a larger group of butlers, who gesture silently at them to come along.

Auren quickly counts twelve people. Fourteen total, including himself and Larazul.

This is not bad at all. With so many butlers, we are a force to be reckoned with.

One of the butlers hands Auren and Larazul the communication gear they prepared. As soon as they put the earpieces in, the group rushes through the forest, quickly making their way toward the castle.

These guys are serious! I wonder why Gotoh and Tsubone, the two strongest butlers, didn’t join us. Anyway, even the average butlers seem fairly capable as well.

They sprint up the mountain path and then hide behind scattered rocks. The castle now looms in front of them. It’s a rather antique-looking building, made of weathered stone, but Auren spots several modern upgrades—guard towers, surveillance cameras, floodlights... and more importantly, hundreds of armed guards, all carrying assault rifles.

This… is a little more than I bargained for. Maybe they’ve already spotted us.

Auren then asks a butler standing next to him, “They never told us what the sign would be. I assume it’s really something obvious that we won’t miss… right?”

“Of course, Master Auren. I believe it will be fairly obvious!” The butler replies politely.

Let me think… Zeno, Silva, and Illumi stayed on the airship. Even if they wanted to reach the front entrance, there was no need to find a different landing zone—that clearing was good enough. They could’ve reached the main path in under five minutes if they rushed. Or… do they approach from the air? Zeno… will he use Dragon’s Head to descend? Maybe even—could it be?

Time passes. It’s night now, and Auren can’t help but marvel at the brilliant castle in the distance. Bathed in thousands of lights, along with a few large floodlights, it resembles a glowing fortress.

Auren checks his phone for the time—11:58, just a few minutes before midnight.

Feeling a little tired and bored, Auren rubs his eyes—only to suddenly spot a small light in the sky, hovering above the castle.

He narrows his eyes and focuses. A yellow aura appears, coiling and twisting like a long serpent.

That’s Dragon’s Head.

Suddenly, Illumi’s cold voice rings through the earpiece: “Mission Start.”

In an instant, the glowing dragon expands and morphs into hundreds of massive, golden projectiles—like huge arrows, or more accurately, like massive ballista bolts.

Yes… he really used it! Dragon Dive! This will throw them into chaos and completely wreck the castle! These things can pierce through concrete!

The sky—more radiant and magnificent than any fireworks display—bursts into light. The arrows descend like divine judgment, and Auren can’t take his eyes off them as they begin to rain down on the castle.

Like hundreds of bombs falling from the sky, the explosion erupts with deafening force. Auren hears a cascade of blasts, echoing like a sequence of carpet bombs, as the castle is mercilessly struck by the mighty barrage.

In a matter of seconds, the once-pristine fortress is riddled with holes. Auren hears floors collapsing, towers vanishing, and even a few guards screaming as they’re thrown from their posts—some falling to their deaths.

Panic erupts. The once-quiet and lifeless castle now blazes with fear and confusion, engulfed in chaos.

It’s starting now!

It doesn’t take long. Only five minutes later, the first soldiers and cabinet members begin fleeing the wreckage. As Auren predicted, no one uses a vehicle. They’re all escaping on foot.

Thanks to the hundreds of arrows, the road is completely shredded. The whole castle looks like a battlefield now. Of course, they’ll have to run. I guess it’s time to do my job!

As the soldiers near their position, Auren notices Larazul vanish from his hiding spot.

He reappears before the oncoming soldiers, uncovers his broadspear, and mercilessly drives it into the first soldier. He pulls it out, then jumps towards another person and stabs his new target. In less than two seconds, a person dies, and Larazul is already moving on to the next target.

He’s ruthless. Every two seconds, another one falls. I better move, or people will think I’m slacking off.

Auren draws Eternity, which he now keeps conjured by default to avoid suspicion. Using Ren, he sprints toward a group of people attempting to escape Larazul’s path. Without hesitation, Auren swings his blade through one soldier, cutting him into two halves, dashes to the next, and cuts him down just as cleanly.

Matching Larazul’s speed and style, Auren mirrors his cold efficiency, executing every soldier and corrupt official within reach. The soldiers are too terrified to react—most can’t even track their movements, and a few are even collapsing on the spot, screaming in terror.

In under a minute, the path is littered with bodies. The few people still standing at the castle gates turn back, clearly giving up on escaping past Auren and Larazul.

Auren sheathes Eternity and surveys the trail of corpses behind him.

This… I did that? I feel incredibly powerful. All that physical training was worth it. My speed is on a whole new level! I really kept up with Larazul! What will my body be like if I keep this up for a year or two?!

Larazul walks over to him and comments, “Impressive technique. Zeno wasn’t lying. I take it you noticed the bad news?”

“What’s wrong? We’re doing our job just fine, aren’t we?” Auren replies, unsure what Larazul is getting at.

“I suppose I should relay this to our employers,” Larazul mutters before pressing his communicator. “Larazul speaking. Auren and I have cleared out a wave of soldiers and officials, but a significant number have stopped fleeing. We’ve yet to encounter a single Nen user. They’re likely grouping up, close to our target.” ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ NoveI-Fire.ɴet

“Understood,” Zeno says in a calm voice over the channel.

“I see,” Auren says, turning to Larazul. “So what do we do? Do we head inside?”

“We have our orders. We were told to wait for a while before we head inside. For now, we hold our position. If nothing changes in ten minutes, we can consider entering. But that’s your call—it’s a big risk,” Larazul replies.

What do I do?