(MoD) Chapter 32: O’ Death

Chapter 32: O’ Death

Kamigyo Ward. 

“Hey,” one of the guardsmen stationed outside the Ashikaga Estate spoke, looking at his colleague. “Is it just me? Or does everything feel a little cooler than usual?” 

His fellow guardsman hummed, “True. It usually isn’t this cold during this time of year, but I doubt it’s anything to fuss about.” He shrugged, “I’m more concerned about that.”

He turned around, pointing at the beautiful sight that was the estate’s front courtyard. Laden with bright, colorful flora and gardeners tenderly maintaining each hedge, tree, and flower bed they came across, water canisters and trowels in hand. Their clothing was dirtied by the constant work they had done while immersed in the courtyard’s soil.

But that wasn’t the guardsmen’s main point of concern, instead, it was the presence of at least a dozen maids and butlers that resided within the estate, all evenly lined up with their arms at attention, and apprehension plastered over their faces, which made their unease stick out like a sore thumb. 

Had he seen the residence assume such a formation before? Absolutely.

When essential guests like Mephisto Pheles, the Magician Council’s Minister, came to visit, it was only natural for the Ashikaga Clan to award him with an adequate reception, as a show of respect for the influence and might such a figure commanded. 

They had also done the same when House Pendragon’s Patriarch visited quite some time ago, before Ashikaga Tsuji became a Fourth Circle Magician. Albeit, they were much more reluctant to give face to the west’s most prominent Magician bloodline, but sometimes, you needed to hide your fangs earlier on so you could flash them freely in the future.

Only those willing to play the sheep could earn the right to assume the mantle of a tiger.

“Do you think the Minister’s coming to visit again?” 

“I doubt it, he already visited recently to warn the Patriarch about trying to intrude on Kuoh’s authority. Granted, mere guardsmen like us aren’t privy to the workings of the inner circle, so it’s highly possible they tried something again and we just weren’t told about it.” 

“Haha, you’re probably on the money.” He chuckled idly, setting the matter that didn’t concern a grunt like him aside, and returning his attention to maintaining watch over the front entrance.

But his colleague didn’t seem to share his sense of indifference, his gaze completely fixated on the sky as his pupils dilated, and his mouth hung wide open in an evident state of disbelief.

“Hey, what’s wrong—” 

He looked up as well, and in a matter of seconds, his expression too turned to one of utter consternation.

The sky was changing. 

Its bright blue luster was being bleached by a pale gray, as if the heavens themselves had decided to drain the ceiling between humanity and what lies beyond their planet of all life. 

However, only the sky above Kamigyo Ward was being altered. Everything outside of it remained untouched, creating a barrier-like effect reminiscent of the meeting point of freshwater and seawater in the open ocean.

Swish! Swish! 

The trees began to sway as a strong gust of wind started to pick up, one that carried a coldness potent enough to immediately raise goosebumps on the arms of both the guardsmen and the servants waiting outside the residence’s front door. 

Out of nowhere, beautiful, white-tipped flowers with black centers started to blossom from the ground. Growing from mere buds to fully formed flora just as quickly as the sky was morphing, taking over the plain grass over Kamigyo, and that of the estate’s carefully curated garden.

The guardsmen and servants desperately wanted to speak to each other, but they just couldn’t seem to bring themselves to push the words out of their mouths, as if the ground beneath them had reached up to their throats with an invisible hand and clasped itself around them. 

It demanded they remain silent and do nothing more than watch. An irrefutable order no one with even a micro-relation to Kamigyo’s soil was allowed to ignore.

Hoooooowwwwwwwl! 

The wind’s might grew fierce, the cold plaguing everyone it touched with ten times the strength than before, their teeth reflexively clattering as their skeletal structures began to shiver. 

Yet, they were still not released from the force’s clasp. The same went for everyone inside the Ashikaga estate.

…

“Haha! Good! Very good!” Tsuji was just barely hanging on, his four circles just about giving him enough strength to retain his basic bodily functions. Which he doubted would last for much longer, but he didn't care. 

Unlike everyone else, he relished the sensation. He embraced it whole, uncaring of what malevolent intent had in store for him. In his mind, this was good, this was right, this was justice. This was him being repaid for not only all the work he had put into the name “Ashikaga”, but also that of his ancestors who had done the same for the past seven hundred years. 

“I truly am blessed! Of all the generations, it could’ve been! Of all the generations, it could be! Me! Ashikaga Tsuji was chosen to witness this!” The Patriarch began to laugh maniacally, shocking Taro, who stood observing him with his body frozen, just like everyone else. 

Throughout his life, his father had embodied the qualities of poise, composure, elegance, refinement, perfectionism, stature, reputation, and royalty. 

But right before his eyes, all those notions regarding the man known as Ashikaga Tsuji were being thrown out of the window to rot, fester, and be subject to the beaks of vultures.

And to think the source of all this was supposed to be that person, his arrival.

“Do you understand now, son? I told you time and again that his foretold return would come, yet you still insisted on remaining blind to it and clinging to the feeble belief that his awakening was just a coincidence. That seven hundred years of prophecy held no weight! You and that foolish woman!”

…

Squawk! Squawk! 

A flock of ravens rushed over Kamigyo, even though there weren’t supposed to be any in the area—or Kyoto at all, for that matter, as if they had spawned out of nowhere just like the abruptly blooming black and white flowers.

They all perched on the arch where the Ashikaga estate’s front entrance stood, paying no attention to the dread-filled guards below them. 

Likewise, the guardsmen couldn’t care less about the ravens, for there was a figure approaching them from a distance. 

One who didn’t seem even remotely bothered by Kamigyo Ward’s influence. 

He seemed to be exalted by it. The guardsmen couldn’t explain it, but their guts were sure that this figure was the root of everything happening around them. 

He was what had set Kamigyo alight, and he was what had awakened its dormant will.

Step by step, the figure grew closer. His appearance gradually became more and more visible to the guardsmen with each passing moment.

Ba-dump! Ba-dump! 

And the closer he got, the more their hearts began to pound—the thrumming was so strong that they swore their hearts were about to burst right out of their chests. Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do to fight or suppress the feeling, other than hope for Kamigyo to show mercy upon them finally.

Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump! 

He wore a charcoal-colored, well-tailored tweed suit, similar to what people would wear in early 1920s England, that exuded a profound, vintage flair. 

Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump! 

Accompanied by a white, polished shirt underneath, a long, dark overcoat, and a flat cap that rested evenly on the individual’s head. Each piece of clothing that clung to his body was filled with a mighty, defensive force that had been inscribed onto it by an exceptionally talented refinement specialist. 

One which far exceeded the boundaries of a Second Circle Magician, or a Magician at all, for that matter.

“I do recall requesting a welcoming party upon my arrival… But…” He spoke, his voice sending an eerie, gut-wrenching chill down the guardsmen’s spines. “I didn’t think you’d interpret it as me wanting something of such revolting magnitude. I have come here as an honored guest, not an executioner. At least not for now…” 

Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump!

The honored guest was none other than the sole human possessor of Dark Mana. Ashikaga Takauji, Ashikaga Taro and Akahashi Miho’s son. Who had finally come to visit his family’s true home. 

As for his attire? That was a gift from Azazel, as a personal gift between himself and Takauji for the valuable research the latter had given him. 

“Takauji… I don’t like this…” Murayama, who also seemed to be unaffected by Kamigyo’s transformation, spoke, casting an apprehensive glance at the terrain around her. Her hands were drawn close to her chest in a self-comforting manner.

“Me neither,” Sona continued, knitting her brows together in deep displeasure.

“What good does telling me that do? I don’t know why any of this is happening either…” He walked up to one of the guardsmen, their sclera immediately turning bloodshot once he was in close enough proximity, followed by them suddenly gasping for air. “Hey, mind tell me what’s going on—” 

Thud! 

“Well, that’s one way to react.” He scoffed, crouching down next to the guard’s body that had just collapsed. “Are you dead?” He looked up, glancing at the ravens fixated on him from up above. “Did you guys kill him? Don’t you think that’s a little rude?” 

“Takauji!” Sona yelled at him admonishingly. 

“What? I’m just as confused as you here, it’s not like I can just tell this place to stop—” 

Kamigyo stopped, the pressure that had been haunting everyone, hesitating no longer to release its menacing grasp.

“Oh…” He smirked, “It seems I remain as amazing as usual regardless of where I wander. Such treatment is indeed befitting of someone of my stature, well done, Kamigyo, your welcoming ceremony has pleased me well.” He chuckled, continuing to stroll through the front courtyard, admiring the craftsmanship and skill of the gardeners along the way. 

“Takauji, stop.” Sona reached forward, grabbing her Contracted Magician by the waist. “I don’t have a good feeling about this place… I think we might want to reconsider whether coming here was a good idea or not…” 

“We?” He raised his eyebrow, leaning closer to her. “The last I checked, this is the Ashikaga residence. Not the Sitri residence. If you want to leave, be my guest. I, on the other hand, fully intend on exploring what this place has to offer to me. It’s smart enough to acknowledge my presence, so it’s only right that I respond in kind by indulging in its hospitality.” 

Sona’s mood was quick to sour. “You can’t tell me that you genuinely don’t sense anything wrong with this place?” 

“On the contrary,” he chuckled darkly. “I’ve never felt more at home.” 

He released himself from Sona’s grasp, shocking her once he realized that Takauji’s physical strength appeared to have increased out of nowhere. Allowing him to walk up to the line of servants awaiting his arrival, all of whom were now clutching their chests in pain, only able to remain conscious thanks to Takauji's “ending” of Kamigyo’s strange awakening.

“Sitri-senpai…” Takauji’s usual arrogance was one thing, but even a blind man could tell that something was different this time around. Something more sinister was brewing.

“I know,” Sona reassuringly patted the younger Ashikaga on the shoulder. “For the time being, let’s stick close to him—if anything goes wrong, I’ll make sure to knock some sense into your foolish brother.” Internally, she couldn’t be more relieved that she had chosen to go alongside him. 

Something wasn’t right about the resting place of the late Ashikaga Takauji. 

Shocker. 

“Mm…” Murayama nodded, deciding to trust in the judgement of Kuoh’s Student President. 

━━━━

Talk about an entrance. I guess it’s time for us to explore what awaits the king of arrogance in his family’s estate. Also, Azazel seems to have hooked him up with the Thomas Shelby fit, W Governor.