The power of the Living Mirror was one-way. It could show appearances, but it couldn't transmit your commands.
If you wanted to issue orders from a distance, you needed some method to compensate for that weakness.
A Conductor might have been able to make appropriate judgments depending on the situation, but the Dog Chain showed no sign of realizing it had gone down the wrong path.
Adler and the other Conductors used various means when controlling monsters. For instance, Quint could issue detailed instructions with whistles, while Adler—who couldn't do that—simply wouldn't send low-intelligence monsters far away.
"Call on Thousand Transformations. They've surely anticipated this kind of situation, right?"
Adler didn't know much about the Dog Chain's abilities. He hadn't even known it could scout, and there was a possibility it had hidden abilities that allowed it to issue commands from far away.
But when Adler posed his question, Thousand Transformations' companions merely exchanged glances without responding.
What was going on? As Adler stared in bewilderment, Tinno—who had left them with those ominous words yesterday about "you don't know the terror of Thousand Transformations"—cleared his throat softly and spoke.
"Of course they've anticipated it. You underestimate the Master's divine strategy and devilish plotting far too much. The Master has probably anticipated even the hesitation. That's why there's no need to call them."
"...Huh?"
"...Anticipated even the hesitation... What's the point of deliberately making them hesitate? They could just be careful..."
"...The Master's thoughts, the Master's judgments, lie on heights far beyond the reach of ordinary mortals. In other words, the Master is a god."
Uno's perfectly reasonable question was met with Tinno's answer. Adler couldn't help but hold his breath at the expression on Tinno's face.
It was a look so grave it bordered on chilling. That was decidedly not the expression of someone speaking fondly of an ally.
Conductors who controlled monsters required exceptional command ability. Adler had believed the rumors about Thousand Transformations' divine strategy and devilish plotting stemmed from their skill as a Conductor, but perhaps that assumption had been a little naive.
In any case, it seemed wise to observe a bit longer.
"If you're going to say that... Sounds like we might see something interesting."
"...It definitely won't be interesting, I think..."
The Spiritfolk girl who had been called Kruse murmured softly. Her voice carried a palpable sense of dread.
It would make sense to fear an enemy, but being this terrified of an ally was unusual. From what Adler could see, Thousand Transformations wasn't intimidating their allies through fear or force either.
Just then, Elisa, who had been silently staring into the mirror, suddenly opened her eyes wide.
"Something's coming...!"
Everyone focused on the mirror. Almost simultaneously, the rustling in the bushes stopped. The Dog Chain had halted.
There were no footsteps. But an uneasy wind was blowing.
And then, while everyone watched intently, it emerged from the shadows of the trees.
The first thing Adler saw was a pitch-black mask that seemed to swallow the dappled sunlight. The design was similar to what the Phantoms they'd fought at the Source Temple had worn, but the color was different.
It was a humanoid Phantom. Unlike the knight Phantom that had tormented them, this one was dressed like a Mage.
A short pitch-black robe, with slender, elongated limbs. Its movements were refined and lacked any violent atmosphere, yet even through the Living Mirror, the pressure it radiated was extraordinary.
A dark Mage wearing a grotesque mask. This was clearly no ordinary Phantom.
It was likely on par with the knight Phantom that had split Yuden clean in two.
From the depths of his heart, Adler thought: Thank goodness we didn't face this Phantom back then.
The essence of a Conductor's power was overwhelming through numbers. A knight who could fight a thousand was formidable, but a mage who could fight a thousand was a natural enemy.
A single wide-range attack spell could annihilate an entire army. In the worst case, even Adler and the other Conductors would be wiped out.
—I want it.
He was interested in the Phantom of God too, but Adler's army had almost no mages to speak of. Monsters that could use magic were rare to begin with.
If he could dominate this Phantom, the Night Parade could reach even greater heights.
He struggled to keep his expression calm despite the intense emotions warping his face. The Phantom had only just appeared before them. He hadn't even witnessed what process was involved in dominating it.
Could it be that Thousand Transformations had used the Dog Chain to scout for Phantoms?
It diverged somewhat from their current objective, but thinking about it that way, the reason for sending the Dog Chain out on reconnaissance made sense.
Powerful monsters were valuable to Conductors too.
There was no need to squander them needlessly, and moreover, if it were a living creature, it wouldn't have even considered approaching upon sensing this Phantom's aura. Treasure Weapons could be reacquired if destroyed, and there was no reason to cower before a powerful Phantom.
This was a choice he'd never considered before. Maybe he should search for one when they got back to the city... Just as that thought crossed his mind, something black slowly descended from directly above the Phantom.
A pale, ink-colored sphere. For an instant he thought it was some enormous balloon, but it wasn't.
The air around it warped unnaturally, and looking at it made his chest tighten.
He glanced to the side and saw Uno staring at it with eyes opened to their limit. Perhaps through those special eyes of his, Uno could see something different?
Lapis staggered up to the mirror, slammed her hands on the table, and said in a trembling voice: "I-I-Impossible... That's a Spirit. And not just any Spirit—it's on par with Milres, the Guardian Spirit of Yggdrasil—the highest-ranking Spirit!"
A mass of power. Living nature. Even for Adler and his companions, who had traveled through every hidden realm, this was one of the strongest existences they had almost never encountered.
The enigmatic Spirit floated around the Phantom as if standing guard.
"I've never heard of a Spirit siding with a Phantom...!"
"Hmm..."
"...Tch. We'll need to take some countermeasures against this—"
"We can't. We'd lose before we even got close."
It seemed even Liliz recognized how bad the matchup was, clicking her tongue as Elisa spoke in a reproaching tone.
A Phantom Mage alone was already beyond handling, but with a high-ranking Spirit at its side, the odds were impossibly stacked against them.
The Phantom advanced slowly through the tall grass. Just doing that was enough for the surrounding plants to rapidly lose their color and wither away, as if—it were draining their life force.
It didn't appear to be doing anything deliberate. Was this the Phantom's power, or the Spirit's?
If there was one thing he could say for certain, it was that its very presence was harming the life around it.
Terrifying power. Especially ill-suited against the Night Parade. If they'd encountered it without warning, they might have lost.
Uno gave Adler an expression that said he wanted to say something. Adler nodded once and looked around at everyone.
This Phantom's power was undeniably immense. But precisely because they knew about it in advance, there were cards they could play.
"It seems to have a troublesome ability... But if Uno's Ripper can tear through space, we could definitely get the drop on it from behind."
"Right now, the scissors are depleted, so it'll take a little while before they're usable again."
Uno's Holy Spirit—Ripper's ability was perfect for ambushes.
Scissors that could freely tear through space. That ability, which enabled a form of pseudo-teleportation, had been the Night Parade's trump card on countless occasions. It was effective not only during retreats but also in offensive operations.
A Mage's weakness was the fragility of their physical body. Even if the opponent was a Phantom, that premise didn't change.
If Liliz—who boasted enough offensive power to knock out Quint in a single blow—attacked from behind where the Phantom was defenseless, it shouldn't stand a chance.
The plant-withering phenomenon wasn't powerful enough to take out a high-level Hunter in an instant. Elisa nodded at Adler's proposal with a dazed expression.
"...That power might indeed be ideal against this Phantom—"
"...I hate borrowing strength from a thief—Tch. I guess we have no choice. We have to do the job properly."
"Indeed, Sister. This is a world-ending crisis—"
"Mm-hmm."
Liliz clicked her tongue in irritation. It seemed she had the magnanimity to cooperate with someone she disliked if the goal demanded it.
There was no worry of betrayal either. This woman would attack you head-on rather than stab you in the back.
He had no intention of holding back. The thought of there being multiple powerful Phantoms like this one was unpleasant, but they would inevitably face more of them in the future.
They had to cooperate to survive. The Mourning Specter and the Night Parade were in this together.
"Uno, how long until your scissors are usable again?"
"Let's see... About three days should be enough for them to recover for one use..."
Three days, huh. He'd been pushing them too hard lately.
It would mean a short wait, but this operation didn't end with reconnaissance. They still had to set up the device afterward. They couldn't exactly ignore this Phantom and proceed.
They'd hit a snag right from the start, but on the flip side, it was good to learn of its existence now.
Fortunately, the Phantom didn't seem to have strong detection abilities—it hadn't noticed the Dog Chain hiding in the bushes.
The Phantom's gait was unsteady. Swaying left and right, it walked past within a few meters of the Dog Chain.
Did it have a patrol route? After a moment's hesitation, Adler switched the Living Mirror's target from the Dog Chain to the Phantom before him.
Now he should be able to see what the Phantom's objective was and where it was headed.
Was it searching for something, or perhaps guarding the area around the Treasure Hall? He wanted every bit of information he could get.
He straightened up and watched the Phantom's movements intently. Just then, the bushes shifted violently.
"!? Wh-what!?"
What burst from the bushes was—the Dog Chain that Adler and the others had been tracking through the Living Mirror until just moments ago.
The faintly glowing, slender chain. It leaped from the bushes with nimble movements and charged—bravely(?)—straight at the Phantom.
"!? Eh? Ehhhh?!"
Tinno let out a thin, shriek-like voice and blinked rapidly. Liliz and Kruse were also watching the footage with stunned expressions.
Upon collision, the Dog Chain dissolved the canine form it had been maintaining and reverted to a single chain, wrapping itself tightly around the Phantom's body.
The Phantom shuddered at the surprise attack from behind and tried to shake the chain off, but it wasn't strong enough.
It was a scene that defied belief.
"Was the Dog Chain's goal to restrain the Phantom!? No, but—"
Adler couldn't contain his confusion at the incomprehensible turn of events.
Restraining a target was indeed the most common function of chain-type Treasure Weapons. The Dog Chain being a Treasure Weapon meant it wasn't unreasonable for it to charge at a powerful Phantom without hesitation.
But Thousand Transformations hadn't given any instructions to activate the Treasure Weapon, and ordinarily, a Phantom from a Treasure Hall of this level couldn't be restrained by something like the Dog Chain.
This was a scene that could only occur if numerous factors aligned. If this was all according to Thousand Transformations' plan, then their intellect had surpassed the level of mere "exceptional command ability."
But there was still more. Problems remained.
A Mage might indeed have low pure physical ability, but that didn't mean they were weak.
Even with its entire body restrained, the Phantom's power hadn't been diminished in the slightest.
As if confirming Adler's thoughts, the Phantom's body began to glow faintly. The chain coiled around it came undone and was flung away.
It was a simple barrier spell that used the magic power surging through its body to repel the attack. Any Mage worth their salt could pull off such a technique.
The Dog Chain regained its form mid-air and landed in the bushes, vanishing from sight.
"What's it planning?"
Certainly, hiding in the bushes would conceal it visually, but even with low detection abilities, once you knew something was there, there were countless ways to locate it.
The Phantom turned toward where the Dog Chain had landed and quietly extended its right arm.
That was all the Phantom did.
Starting from where the Phantom stood, the grass withered away as if ripples were spreading outward. The speed was incomparable to before.
The erosion spread without stopping, and the large tree that had been lush and green rapidly lost its color and collapsed with a soft crash.
All that remained was the Phantom, unchanged from before, and the Dog Chain that had lost its hiding place.
The effective range was about ten meters, perhaps. Or if it got serious, it might be able to attack over an even wider area.
As expected of a Treasure Weapon, the chain hadn't been affected by the magic, but there was no longer any chance of winning. The Dog Chain had no means of offense to begin with. It was purely a Treasure Weapon designed for restraining opponents.
But if it seemed like an impossible situation—and yet Thousand Transformations had deliberately pitted the Phantom against the Dog Chain—then they must have known this would happen...
Adler swallowed hard and watched the situation unfold.
Facing the Phantom Mage who stood before it without saying a word, the Dog Chain shuddered violently.
Then—with a great leap, it flipped around and darted off with nimble movements.
"...Huh?"
The Dog Chain escaped the range of the Phantom's power and vanished into the remaining bushes. Adler blinked involuntarily, but the reality didn't change.
Was this some kind of strategy? The thought flashed through his mind for an instant, but there was no sign of the Dog Chain returning.
"It... ran away?"
What was the meaning of this? If it was going to flee, there had been no need to reveal itself by charging at the Phantom.
If it had attacked the Phantom in that situation, he should assume the Dog Chain had received that command. There was no way the Dog Chain could fight a Phantom head-on, so the reason for sending it at the Phantom had to be something else.
Adler furrowed his brow and turned his thoughts trying to decipher Thousand Transformations' reasoning, but he couldn't understand it at all.
There was no way this action would ultimately lead to the subjugation of the Phantom— As he stood in a state of confusion, Tinno spoke up in a strained, squeezed-out voice: "M-M-Master... Could it... be that kind of trial...?"
...Tri...al?
A word he wasn't accustomed to hearing—not something you'd expect in a situation like this—Adler looked at Tinno.
Tinno's face was bloodless, looking as though he might die at any moment.
Adler looked at the scene the Living Mirror was showing once more. It was showing the Phantom beginning to walk.
With an unhurried gait, swaying heavily but heading in the direction the Dog Chain had fled— "...My legs want to run... and we were here first..."
"Weakling... Is he really going that far!? Really!?"
Elisa let out an exasperated voice while Kruse clawed at her hair. Seeing this, Adler finally understood the meaning of Tinno's words.
A sensation that was either exhilaration or a chill shot up his spine.
Liliz had indeed said that Thousand Transformations never took the easy road, but— "Could it be... they're planning to lure it in and ambush it!? That Phantom with the Guardian Spirit attached!?"
It was a plan undoubtedly brimming with the confidence befitting Level 8.