It ended up being about an hour before Liliz and the others returned to the carriage.
You could tell at a glance that it had been a fierce battle. Sure enough, just as Citry had said, their opponents this time were apparently quite formidable.
Greenish bodily fluid was caked all over Liliz's gauntlets and Anthem's entire body, while Tinno was soaked from head to toe and reeked of something foul. Lapis and the rest of the Star's Holy Thunder members looked thoroughly exhausted as well.
I was sitting on top of Mimmy, waving my hands back and forth to greet them.
When Tinno saw me, her expression turned into that of a rain-soaked puppy. Lucia sighed and spoke as if making an excuse.
"We got splattered with insect fluid. We tried to wash it off, but the smell won't come out... I think Citry's potions could help, but..."
"Oh my, that sounds awful! Here you go, Tiny."
At those words, Citry cheerfully proceeded to dump a mysterious, sludgy potion all over Tinno's head.
I knew Citry's potions were effective, but the sight was still grim. Liliz removed her gauntlets and, in a rare display, started grumbling while dangling her hands limply.
"Seriously, I've never seen a centipede monster like that. Sure, insect-type monsters are known for their high vitality, but this one was incredibly tough—even after we crushed its head and bound it up, it wouldn't die."
"Mm."
"Ice and lightning had no effect either. I'd heard that some ancient monsters possess unbelievable vitality, but I never expected to experience it firsthand—"
"That one was impossible."
Even Lapis, who should have far greater longevity than humans and deep knowledge of monsters, wore a grimace. Elisa had completely lost all motivation.
To hear title-bearing Hunters say all that—just who were those thieves?
That was when I noticed that none of Liliz and the others were dragging anything back. I couldn't help but widen my eyes in surprise.
"Huh? Don't tell me—no haul? And the Mourning Specter was there with almost a full roster?"
I'd heard they might not be able to finish the job, but it's rare for them to chase down thieves and come back with nothing.
"Yeah. Sorry about that? The matchup just wasn't great... I think if Luke had been with us, we could've managed. Besides the centipede, there were several other really tough ones. And while we were busy with them, the ones riding on top got away."
"I'm sorry, Mastaa..."
Tinno drooped dejectedly, still covered head to toe in sludge. She'd really been getting bolder lately, hadn't she?
"I see... Well, it's not a big deal."
Thieves really were the worst. And the stronger they got, the worse they became.
This time it had been a chance encounter, so I wasn't too worried, but I'd had countless bad experiences from failing to finish a job cleanly and then getting counterattacked.
"Big brother!? Why are you acting all superior when you haven't done anything...!"
"That's right, that's right!"
Lucia cut in with wide eyes, and Kruse raised his arm in agreement. But come on... right?
"But that ridiculously huge centipede monster... I feel like I've seen it somewhere before... Where was it..."
Liliz furrowed her brow and tilted her head.
A ridiculously huge centipede... Not an opponent I'd ever want to fight—or even see, for that matter.
I'll admit it—I especially hated insect-type monsters out of all the creatures out there. They were slimy and clicky, and insect monsters, many of which felt no fear of death, had tormented me endlessly.
As I was getting fed up, Liliz must have caught the look on my face, because she quickly added— "B-but it's fine! I don't think they'll disappear before we take them down! They were all unfamiliar monsters, and regular Level 5 or 6 Hunters wouldn't stand a chance against them."
That sounded like... they might be exactly the kind of monsters you absolutely couldn't let get away?
...Oh well. I'd just pretend I hadn't heard that.
"Come to think of it, what about that sword Citry was carrying?"
"Oh, that. There was a swordsman among the thieves who'd absorbed quite a bit of Mana Material. Big sis took him out with a single strike before he could get used to her speed, so it worked out... Luke would've wanted to fight him, I bet. His body got recovered in the chaos, but I grabbed the sword first, thinking Klye might want it!"
Liliz's speed was exceptional even among Thieves. She was strong, too, and when the opponent was a swordsman without much durability, things could turn out like this.
Shouldn't they have captured the person before recovering the sword? ...No, I wouldn't say anything. I'd just pretend I hadn't heard this either.
For now, I slapped the stone statue of Luke that was stacked in the carriage and said: "Ha ha ha, apparently there was a swordsman. Too bad, Luke. Sounds like he was quite the challenge."
"Klye..."
"Big brother..."
Just kidding, just kidding. But both Citry and Liliz had said things would've been different if Luke were there. The timing really couldn't have been worse. Normally he'd charge in before anyone even confirmed the enemy's presence.
That was when Lapis, looking displeased, let out a small hmph.
"Hmph... It's a hassle, but we should report this to the Explorer's Guild. Even though we thinned them out a bit, those things are too unusual to just leave alone. Ancient monsters aren't something you find easily. And to think someone can actually command them—"
Report to the Guild, huh? I understood the reasoning and knew it was the right thing to do, but it gave me pause.
Because whenever such a report was filed, nine times out of ten I'd be the one contracted to subdue them.
Fighting opponents that even this Party couldn't finish off was out of the question. Next time, they'd know our tactics. If they were strong enough, they'd definitely come prepared. I'd leave this one to Ark.
"I told Citry the same thing earlier, but right now Luke—Yggdra—comes first. I'll send a letter to the Explorer's Guild."
"Understood. I'll make the arrangements at the next town."
Citry, as always, was dependable. Though she'd been hopeless last time.
Kruse shot me a cold stare while I was feeling all confident and secure.
"I've thought this before, but Weakling, you really don't do anything until the moment of truth, do you?"
"...That's hurtful. I'm different this time, you know."
After all, I'd brought every Treasure Weapon I'd been hoarding. For example— I called Mimmy over and pulled out a long chain from within. It was a Treasure Weapon consisting of a thick, rusted chain at its core with countless shackles branching off to either side.
Treasure Weapons were composed of Mana Material, so they weren't affected by physical phenomena. The rust should be considered merely part of the design.
Chain-type Treasure Weapon: Authority of Obedience.
Kruse's eyes went wide at the sight of the most imposing chain among all my chain-type Treasure Weapons.
"It's a powerful chain Treasure Weapon that binds the captured target's mind and shuts down all resistance. With this, any thief would be a pushover."
"We-Weakling... How do you even have something like that...?"
It was a Treasure Weapon that sealed away the will to resist rather than physical strength—a fittingly fearsome tool for its appearance. I'd only ever tested it, never used it in earnest, but it should come in handy for catching thieves who'd absorbed far too much Mana Material for ordinary shackles to hold.
As a bonus, when activated, it could even compel the bound person to walk of their own volition. That was where the name "Authority of Obedience" came from.
I grinned at the fear in Kruse's expression. That was when Liliz frowned and spoke up.
"Klye, isn't that the flawed one where you have to connect people to all one hundred and six shackles—fifty-three pairs—before the locks even engage?"
"Capturing fifty-three people at once sounds like a tall order... Putting shackles on everyone would be a hassle, and there weren't even that many opponents this time."
Citry, who was always on my side, said thoughtfully.
"...Flawed? How rude... If you chain their legs too, you only need half the number."
Well, if you chained their legs, they wouldn't be able to walk in a parade, so I'd have to make an effort to carry them myself.
"For starters, Leader, do you even understand how difficult it is to take someone alive!? They're coming to kill you!"
"...Hmm..."
My companions, who knew I'd paid a fortune for this, all started complaining at once. Can you blame them? If this thing had any practical value, it wouldn't have been put up for sale in the first place! If it were designed for ten people, it might have sold at ten times the price.
If we were short on people, we could always fill the empty shackles by chaining up Kruse and the others, right? ...No, that wouldn't work.
"Weakling... Don't you have any Treasure Weapons that are actually useful in combat?"
Kruse looked at me the way you'd look at something pitiful. Was that better than the obvious mockery floating in the eyes of Lapis and the other Star's Holy Thunder members?
I had to speak up to clear my name. They could mock me all they wanted, but my Treasure Weapons were innocent.
"W-wait, wait! This time I brought a lot of other interest—useful Treasure Weapons too... Like masks that create copies of yourself to scout around."
"...My feet want to run."
Elisa said, looking thoroughly exasperated. It'd been a while since I'd spent this much time with her, but to think I'd driven the ever-independent Elisa to say something like that...
But I really didn't have any Treasure Weapons suited for combat... It wasn't that I was weak. Well, okay, I was weak—but everyone else was just that much stronger.
Kruse let out a small sigh and patted me on the shoulder.
"...Fine, fine. I'll listen inside the carriage, so let's get moving. If we don't hurry, it'll be dark."
"No way! The carriage is too cramped to show them off!"
Within the borders of the Zebuldia Empire. In an open grassland more than a dozen kilometers from the main road, the group had gathered.
There was nothing to obstruct the view, and not a single person could be seen for as far as the eye could reach. But even if someone had stumbled upon this group, they never would have approached it.
There was a dark-green giant the size of a small hill, a black-shimmering insect the size of a human, a horse with gleaming golden wings, and a skeleton so faint it was like a mirage that you could barely make out even when straining your eyes. And finally—a colossal centipede, its carapace reflecting sunlight in a brilliant crimson glow.
Gathered together in this pack, along with several other monster species never seen near the Imperial Capital, the group defied the laws of nature.
Even when lumped together under the label "monsters," they were still living creatures. When diverse monsters mixed, a hierarchy would naturally form. Under normal circumstances, it was impossible for monsters this different from one another to gather in one place and coexist peacefully.
The only explanation was that this group had complete control over all its monsters.
A grotesque assembly. A legion that had subdued all manner of mythical and demonic beasts across time and space. The Thousand Demons' Night Parade.
One of the figures—a girl draped in brilliant white fur—reached out and touched the thick hide of the wounded giant, a Dark Cyclops. This was Uno, a Holy Spirit Caller.
"It looks like all the ones without magic resistance have been wiped out. Zou-zou is a little hurt too, even with his high vitality! And these are just regular Hunters—we could take on dozens of them easily."
Engagement. Then retreat. Those who couldn't move had to be abandoned. After surveying the condition of the surviving monsters, Uno glanced at her other companion.
"I can't believe they'd fire attack magic of that level from that distance... We came all this way after hearing the prophecy, looking for strong monsters, and this is what we get? Quint was so confident, too, but he got knocked out in one hit by a Thief and had his sword stolen."
"H-hey, shut it! I never thought they'd charge in before the magic had even finished! Adler, only the grunts got taken out. The Guide Hands and General-class are all still alive. What do you want to do?"
Hearing those words, the young swordsman clad in armor forged from insect monster carapace—Quint—said without bothering to hide his irritation.
Having barely endured the magic and finally ready to counterattack, only to be knocked unconscious—of course that would leave a sour taste. But saying he'd let his guard down was no excuse.
Adler Disrard let out a soft sigh. A voice with a certain luster spilled from lips painted with dark rouge.
"To think... they'd attack without even attempting to negotiate. No wonder no one's dared to make a move since the Barrel Great Thieves' Band was destroyed. So that's the Mourning Specter, is it? And their famous Leader hasn't even shown their face yet."
"Exactly. We heard the prophecy and came all this way, and it's already over, apparently... Besides, the Mourning Specter isn't even our objective here!"
"I thought we might take a swing at them since we ran into them, but the price was steep. I figured we'd at least get the first strike."
At Uno's blunt words, Adler offered a wry smile and stroked the scorched red hide of the mythical beast he'd been sitting on—the Star-Eater Centipede.
That swirling vortex mixed with shards of ice had truly been like a natural disaster.
All the battle-hardened monsters that had clashed with countless armies and Parties and emerged victorious time and again had been blown away like leaves.
The first strike felled most of those without magic resistance, and the follow-up blow—like rubbing salt in the wound—left half of the remaining monsters clinging to life. If the Guide Hands controlling each of those monsters hadn't been hardened by Mana Material and equipment, they wouldn't have come out unscathed either.
And of course, the other members as well—Immovable Unchanging, one of the reasons Adler's group had identified them as the Mourning Specter, the woman Thief, and the Spiritfolk who, for some reason, had been attacking their own carriage—there was no doubt they were formidable opponents.
The Star-Eater, which had devoured numerous high-Level Hunters until now, had been torn apart multiple times. Thanks to its remarkable regeneration, no lasting damage remained, but the fact that something had easily pierced its armor—an armor harder than steel by far—was truly astonishing.
The great Zebuldia Empire, home to countless high-Level Hunters. And the Mourning Specter, composed entirely of title-bearing members, who had brought down several groups renowned in the underworld.
I hadn't underestimated their abilities, which surpassed even monsters, but there was no putting it any other way—they were beyond what I'd imagined.
The light-absorbing black vest was crafted from the hide of an ancient black dragon, passed down through the Disrard family for generations. The black spear he carried was a drop from the Treasure Hall boss, the "King of the Abyss."
To think—even with reserves still remaining—that the forces assembled by Adler Disrard, scion of kings and descendant of ancient rulers, could be so easily suppressed.
"...If I fall here, then so be it. I would be unworthy of my swarm."
"Numbers matter, Lord Adler. They're especially important when facing large numbers of opponents. It'd be a different story if there were monstrous Mages who could fire off huge spells nonstop like that, but—"
"Doesn't Zebuldia have a ton of dragons showing up? Though I guess the quality varies... We just need to tame the strongest one."
"Where even is the strongest one!? We came because of the prophecy, so please don't make us climb a snowy mountain again like last time and come up empty!"
Even when subduing monsters, you had to choose your targets carefully. The larger the swarm, the heavier the footwork—and there was also the matter of food.
Setting aside future ambitions, there was no point in mindlessly increasing numbers at this stage of recruitment. It would only raise the risk of being exposed and targeted. He had no intention of losing even if the regular army was sent after him, but being swarmed by insects—even weak ones—would still be a nuisance.
"What a shame. I'd been hoping to get my hands on that big one reported to have appeared near the Imperial Capital..."
He'd heard the rumors of the monster that had turned away both Knight Orders and Hunters. An outstanding individual capable of defeating hordes of warriors was worth its weight in gold to Adler.
But once it was gone, there was nothing to be done. The Zebuldia Empire had several thick Ley Lines running through it—one of the key conditions for powerful monsters to appear. The Mourning Specter's rampage would surely be compensated for in time.
Just then, Adler suddenly recalled something he'd heard before. The Star-Eater he was sitting on shifted, letting out a low, creaking growl.
"...Come to think of it, I've heard the Mourning Specter is a bunch of born combat maniacs who go out of their way to fight powerful monsters. Apparently they've killed numerous Named and potential candidate variants through their own intelligence network."
"Hm? Named aside, what's this about candidates? If they're candidates, that means information about them hasn't spread yet, right? If there's no bounty, there's no point in killing them."
Quint, who specialized in subduing the extremely niche category of sword-wielding monsters, looked surprised.
Treasure Hunting was a profession too. Without a return that justified the risk, you simply didn't move. And when it involved life-threatening monsters, going after targets with no bounty attached was nothing short of madness.
"That's exactly what 'born' means! So what'll it do, Lord Adler?"
Uno's innocent voice rang out. The decision came in an instant.
Adler had learned that the Mourning Specter's strength exceeded their reputation, but he and his group hadn't lost yet. The Star-Eater was intact, and several other particularly powerful individuals in his forces remained.
Adler allowed a thin smile to cross his face as he looked at Uno and Quint.
"I can't exactly take my first loss without putting up a proper fight. They seemed to be in quite a hurry, and I'm personally curious. Let's see what the Hunters of this land are capable of."
He drew a hand mirror from his breast pocket. It was a deep purple mirror adorned with ostentatious wing decorations and an eye carved into its back.
At first glance it looked like an ordinary tool, but it was probably a rare species of monster that almost no one in this world even knew existed.
A peculiar monster that possessed virtually no combat or survival ability—one that had most likely been created by a superior race.
"Living Mirror—by my command as King of the Monstrous, Adler: show me the Thousand Transformations!"
Upon receiving Adler's command, the eye writhed grotesquely. The mirror's surface glowed darkly, and the image within distorted.
And before long, the figure reflected in the mirror made Adler's eyes widen in disbelief.
What he saw was an unremarkable-looking young man with black hair. There was none of the aura typically associated with the powerful about him; he looked no different from any random person on the street.
But that wasn't what was shocking.
Perhaps noticing Adler's silence, Uno, who had been peering over his shoulder, flinched and said hesitantly: "?! I-is this... a m-monster?"
Reflected in the mirror was the Thousand Transformations, straddling a treasure chest and leading the way ahead of the carriage.
Countless masks orbited around him like satellites, and nearby, the Mourning Specter members Adler's group had just fought could be seen sighing in exasperation.
It was a monster. It was supposed to be a monster. The fact that I'm even phrasing it that way is because the monster in the mirror was something that even Adler—who considered himself something of an authority on monsters—had neither seen nor heard of before.
The treasure chest moved dynamically, and the masks circled around it protectively.
This was the first time he'd recognized his own kind since finding Quint.
"This guy... could he be a Guide Hand!?"
A Guide Hand. A possessor of a unique talent for controlling monsters. Their power was so great that they had been persecuted in ancient times, and now they were fated from birth to be enemies of the world.
Whether they were aware of it or not, Guide Hands possessed a distinctive presence. But this man—had none of that.
And the fact that he made no effort to hide the manifestation of his power spoke to the deep confidence the man possessed.
Uno and Quint had been different. Until Adler found them, they'd had no idea how to effectively use their power, content to languish in weakness.
But this man—the Thousand Transformations—was different. He had completely mastered his power as a Guide Hand.
There had been a premonition. Even if he chose not to pursue the Mourning Specter now, here and today, they would inevitably become enemies.
Suddenly, the face of the Thousand Transformations tilted up ever so slightly, and their eyes met. The Living Mirror could only project images from afar—there was no way their eyes could truly meet—yet, for a fleeting moment, Adler's heart gave a hard, singular beat.
He couldn't help but smile. He was startled for a moment, but Adler had walked the path of rivalry with his eyes open.
"So that's it... The one inside 'Immovable Unchanging' was a monster. I knew there was no way a human that huge could exist."
"The one who punched me might've been a monster too... There's no way a human would charge straight into a tornado."
Uno and Quint spoke in relaxed, unbothered voices. It seemed their intimidation had been only momentary.
From what he could see, the Thousand Transformations didn't command many monsters. And the option of not pursuing him... didn't exist either.
Adler licked his lips and declared to the Thousand Transformations in the mirror, who had already averted his gaze as if he'd lost interest: "There's no room for two Demon Kings. Your monsters—shall be mine."