Chapter 220: Strange Mission Location
On the rooftop of the Five Star Building in West City, the young girl wearing a black robe stood by the edge of the rooftop, gazing down at the minuscule city and its people.
Kazumi had, at some point, retracted her hands and mouth into the space of the [Black Coffin], and the reply she received was to wait at the current location for a while longer.
Although protagonists and villains in anime and novels often liked to meet on high-rise buildings to look down upon the insignificant masses, Kazumi didn’t have many feelings about it besides the cold wind from above making her cheeks sting.
Fortunately, it was summer, so the temperature was relatively high, and the human skin cloak provided protection. For the young girl, enduring the cold wind to satisfy her superior’s peculiar taste was not an unbearable thing.
“Buzz—”
Just as the young girl was lost in thought, amused that her dog was worried because she hadn’t responded, a sudden, unfamiliar energy fluctuation interrupted her fantasy.
“Swish—”
Her arms, which had been clasped, suddenly opened, and her cloak billowed as if unfettered by the wind. In an instant, countless corpse crows flew out from beneath the young girl’s cloak, swarming in the direction she commanded.
On the ground nearby, a dark purple magic array quietly opened, and a coffin radiating a strong black aura slowly rose. The coffin door opened little by little, and a dark green death aura surged out, forming the shape of a terrifying skull, as if drawn by some force, converging towards the young girl’s right hand.
“All done.”
A familiar voice sounded, and a broad palm rested on the young girl’s shoulder.
Then, a dark purple energy fluctuation emanated from behind Kazumi, and the corpse crows diving in mid-air froze as if a spell had been cast upon them, suspended in a posture that defied the laws of physics.
“The ability to control death energy, huh? And summoning little cuties from the Underworld?”
A black figure walked out from behind Kazumi with leisurely steps. He looked at the death energy in the young girl’s hand, which had solidified into an arrowhead, then reached out and gently ruffled the head of the nearest corpse crow in the sky. Finally, he turned, revealing an evil smile.
The familiar face that appeared in the darkness caused the young girl, who had been fully on guard, to have her pupils contract sharply. Her frozen body couldn’t help but tremble.
For the person who appeared before Kazumi was Masashi Sakuraba, whom she had met a few days ago!
“Hmm, did Kurokawa that guy mention me to you?”
He lightly clapped his hands, and time seemed to flow again, allowing Kazumi to regain the use of her hands.
The originally fierce corpse crows stopped their dive and quietly landed on the ground. The black coffin on the side no longer emitted death energy, merely standing silently.
The death energy gathered in the young girl’s hand dissipated directly. Her hands dropped, and her hooded head slowly bowed. A low voice, tinged with a hint of fear, emerged from Kazumi’s mouth.
“Greetings, Lord [Poisonous Snake].”
“No need for such formality. Just call me Sakuraba. I’m quite friendly with that guy [Shell] too.”
Such respectful behavior from the young girl made Sakuraba Masashi feel a bit bored. He waved his hand, stopping her from wanting to apologize, and took out a piece of information from his pocket.
“Actually, I’m quite interested in you. Let me see, your codename is [Coffin], right? The name certainly has his style.”
He took out the information Kurokawa Iori had given him earlier and read it. Sakuraba Masashi’s faint smile suddenly froze. The shadow of a snake head on his hand flashed and swallowed the thin paper in his hand. Scratching his head with a slight headache, Sakuraba Masashi looked at Kazumi, who was still looking down.
“Is this guy intending to groom you as his confidante? He didn’t give me any information other than your name. I’m not like others who steal people, so why be so petty?”
Muttering to himself, Sakuraba Masashi glanced at the black coffin and corpse crows on the side, then looked at the young girl before him, and said with a smile.
“Did Kurokawa… that is, [Shell], tell you what we’re doing today?”
“[Shell] asked me to wait for you, Lord Sakuraba, here, and then follow your instructions.”
The young girl kept her head down, her indifferent voice revealing no emotional change, answering Sakuraba Masashi’s question like a robot.
“Ah, today is a simple little mission. You just need to assist me, so don’t be too nervous. Let’s introduce ourselves first. My codename is [Poisonous Snake], you can also call me Sakuraba. As for my specialties, I’m quite good at both spiritual and
After a brief interaction, Sakuraba Masashi had a good grasp of the young girl’s personality and no longer wasted words, getting straight to the point with his introduction.
“Codename [Coffin], my ability is to control death aura and summon undead creatures. My specialties are… studying and killing.”
Nodding, Kazumi answered in a similar manner to his introduction. However, she hesitated when it came to her specialties at the end. After a moment of thought, she managed to reply.
“Hahahahahaha, a very good answer! As expected of someone who killed all their peers during the newcomer test. I suddenly understand why Kurokawa took a liking to you.”
Kazumi’s answer surprised Sakuraba Masashi, but he quickly showed a pleased smile. As if remembering something, his right hand transformed into a yellow, blunt-headed snake, its body wriggled strangely, and finally spat out a crystal stone radiating a black aura.
“Consider this a welcoming gift from a senior. However, when you grow strong enough to summon high-level Underworld creatures, you might need to help me find something in the Underworld.”
He casually tossed the crystal stone in his hand to Kazumi, saying indifferently.
While the Death Crystal was precious, it wasn’t unobtainable for someone of his caliber. However, a person with the ability to connect to the Underworld could potentially help him find the other parts of that damned snake that had escaped, which was a much more important matter to him.
“Mm.”
Kazumi nodded and directly caught the crystal stone, which gave off a comfortable aura. Although she didn’t understand a single word of what he said, it was always best to accept benefits when they were offered.
As for the saying about being unable to refuse favors after receiving them, it was completely ineffective on Kazumi. There was no reason not to eat benefits offered, but if someone tried to use it as a threat, she would kill them if she could, or run if she couldn’t.
“We’ll gather at the location on the map in twenty minutes. The objective is to assist me in obtaining something that group of guys in the tomb is guarding.”
Seemingly noticing that Kazumi didn’t have much else to say, Sakuraba Masashi waved his hand dismissively, shoved a map into her hand, and summoned a giant snake’s mouth, leaping into it.
After all, his purpose in coming here in advance was merely out of curiosity about the new subordinate his friend had spoken so highly of, and who had good compatibility with him. As for the mission itself, to be honest, retrieving something from those outdated guys held no great difficulty for him.
The once noisy rooftop returned to silence, leaving only the silently standing black coffin and the corpse crows by the side as proof of what had just transpired.
Kazumi stood still, staring blankly at the black crystal in her hand. Her mind replayed the information revealed in Sakuraba Masashi’s earlier words. Finally, she let out a long sigh, and with a complex expression, tossed the crystal into the black coffin, picking up the map in her other hand to study it.
The simple map had a wobbly little red circle marked on it, so clear and concise that its meaning was immediately apparent. However, this simple little red circle caused the young girl’s once placid expression to become somewhat strange.
Because the location marked for the mission seemed… somewhat familiar?
