I thought it was a wolf, but something's different.
The wild, red-black mane is long, and the red-black beast's limbs flicker like flames.
What catches my eye most are those violet eyes.
It appeared right after the knife broke, so maybe it was sealed inside the knife.
Maybe it was sealed when the knife stabbed it.
That knife from the Forbidden Land's treasury… given the location, it had to be something outrageous.
But this beast, though…
"Oh my, to think an evil monster would appear in this sacred space…"
The knife goddess wrinkles her face.
I give her a flat stare.
"That's pretty much self-inflicted, you know."
'Grrruuuaaauuugh!! Gaauuuh!!'
The beast crouched into a pouncing stance and lunged. At me.
"Why me!? You're the one who broke the seal!"
"Hey, don't you dare sell out the goddess."
I mean, selling her out would be fine, really. This goddess is strong, after.
I dodged the claws of the lunging beast. Yeah. Not that fast.
It really does feel weaker than it looks.
In that case, perfect timing. Let me try out this new knife.
I aimed Ballistic 6 at the beast.
Before I could, the beast stepped into range, so I fired a gaze-based Banish at it.
The beast dodged the invisible attack effortlessly.
Still, I didn't flinch. I took aim and fired Ballistic 6.
A pale blue blade shot out like a bullet and pierced through the beast's shimmering mane.
"Gaaah!"
The mane takes damage too?
What even is this thing. A gas life-form?
Seeing my confusion, the knife goddess — who'd been content to watch from the sidelines — clapped her hands together.
"Oh, right. I remember now. This monster is a Phantom-type unit."
"...Phantom-type... unit?"
"Yes. If the Minotaur-type is physical, then the Phantom-type falls under the undead category. There are several other elemental units as well."
"So it's undead."
"That's correct."
"Then in that case—"
In that case, I draw the pirate knife.
A cool knife with a skull-shaped sword guard.
Its blade gleams pure white — a coating of elixir.
I also pull a small vial from my pouch.
The knife goddess gives a wry smile.
— Oh, right. You had that, didn't you.
— Let's finish this quick.
I fired off three rounds from the Balistic 6.
The beast — or rather, the Phantom Unit — shifted its body with a slippery, undulating motion to dodge.
A dodge no human could pull off. But those three shots were just a feint.
In truth, I'd already launched the small vial on the second shot.
Then the third shot guided it, and the Phantom Unit stepped right on the vial.
It shattered, and the elixir inside purified the Phantom Unit's feet.
Gyaaaaaaooooooooh!
It let out an agonized roar, though whether it could actually feel pain was unclear.
I used the opening to close the distance in a single One Step, plunging the pirate knife into its chest.
Purification spread from the wound, and I sliced straight upward.
The texture felt weirdly like cutting through jelly. Was this what a phantom's skin felt like?
Oooooooohhhhhh!
The Phantom Unit howled eerily as it dissolved into nothing.
The elixir really delivered. Outstanding anti-undead damage.
The knife goddess spoke, a weary sigh as her preamble.
— Honestly, fighting in a place like this...
That's supposed to be my line.
— At least it's over, so what's the problem?
— Wof, just to be safe, could you pour some elixir on those knife fragments too?
— Sure.
I poured elixir over the scattered knife fragments.
— If you're going to touch anything old, be careful around Phantom Units.
— Can't you just beat them with elixir?
— The scary thing about them is that they manipulate people.
— Manipulate?
That wasn't a reassuring word.
— They amplify people's emotions needlessly, or shift them slightly.
— …So like, making someone overconfident, that kind of thing?
— Yes. They have a stronger effect on those whose souls and hearts are small.
— So the opposite means they have no effect at all?
— Correct. They don't affect the strong. But most people are weak. That's why they gather in groups. And weakness can sometimes become a troublesome kind of strength.
— …Weakness as strength…
— People are weak, so they band together. In that moment, their weakness turns into strength.
— …………
I sort of got it, but also sort of didn't?
— Either way, be careful.
— Understood. But do Phantom Units really show up that often?
— They inhabit objects — ancient ones. Let me see. Things like the forbidden treasures kept in that vault you broke into with those knife fragments.
"Something that old?"
It could still be in the vault.
Hmm. That forbidden ground. Leaving it as-is really is dangerous.
I should talk to Isibara and have it moved to the dungeon.
"Wof. It's almost time."
"Understood. Well then, until next time."
"Yes. Let's meet again."
And so I greeted the morning.
Trade city of Heizen. Southernmost district. The chapel of the ruined church.
A sliver of light fell from the shattered stained glass onto the red altar.
"…So this is all that's left of the remnant?"
"The Jinryu clan is truly finished."
"Who would have thought the oldest noble family in Heizen would meet such an end…"
"What do we do now?"
"We have no choice but to leave Heizen."
"But leaving silently like this… isn't that too pathetic?"
"I want to settle some scores with Zenzera and Gouro. And that wretched witch too."
"But what can we even do?"
The group of black-hooded figures gathered there were the remnants of the Jinryu clan.
And they were the very last ones remaining.
He was struck down, scattered, fled — they had all gone their separate ways.
At first there had been hundreds of them. Now only a dozen or so remained.
And even they had given up. There was nothing to do but leave Hyzen.
"Everyone. Do you truly mean it — that you want to strike back?"
The man standing before the red altar on the raised platform asked them that.
"Y-yeah. That's right. We can't rebuild our home, but we can still hit them where it hurts."
"Otherwise it's just pathetic, isn't it? Infuriating."
"I don't care how small it is. I want to pay them back."
"The townsfolk feel the same way, I'm sure. They abandoned us. Threw the Jinryu away."
"They're enemies now."
"That's right. Hyzen is the enemy!"
A strange fervor took root among the remnants of the Jinryu.
The man before the altar spoke.
"Then let us henceforth call ourselves the Embers of the Jinryu. Let us strike back at Hyzen."
From that day forward, the remnants of the Jinryu began calling themselves the Embers of the Jinryu.
And the man who had led them, the one who stood before the altar, wore a mask.
It was a strange mask.
Shaped like a helmet, with a mirror covering the front.
It was that same mirrored mask that Galad Jinryu had once worn to hide his face.
That mirror surface — he had somehow come to possess it when Galad fled the Forbidden Land.
When he came to, it was in his hand.
He had been wearing it because it was perfect for hiding his true identity.
That was all it was to him.
So the nature of the mirror surface didn't matter.
Because he was a strong one.