The Thousand Ghost Night Parade. A Party that vanished during the Treasure Hall weakening operation.
According to Citry, the Mana Material disruption device had been destroyed by Adler's hand. I'd assumed my so-called disciple had grown tired of me, abandoned the operation midway, and fled — but that apparently wasn't the case.
The warriors of Yggdrasyl who had been turned into Phantoms had lost all memory of the events surrounding the transformation. The process by which they'd become Phantoms was unclear, but I already knew of the existence of masks that could change a person's form.
The master of the Origin Temple was apparently the Masked God. If I knew that much, even I could put two and two together.
Most likely, being forced to wear a mask was what turned someone into a Phantom.
Considering that Adler and the others hadn't changed much in build, maybe they were still in the middle of being transformed?
They'd forced their way into becoming my disciples, and I'd been wishing they'd just disappear forever. But now that they'd fought to the bitter end and been turned into Phantoms, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of pity.
Adler and the others stood there in silence. One against three, with no one else around. Undoubtedly a pinch situation, but I still carried my Barrier Ring, and this was Yggdrasyl territory. If I yelled loud enough, someone would come flying over in no time.
Were they fighting the Phantom's instincts on the inside? Seeing no sign of Adler launching an attack, I spoke with a slightly sentimental tone.
"Those forms… how pathetic, Adler. You all… went down the wrong path."
Using that peculiar ability to control Monsters for evil was the original mistake in the first place. If they hadn't turned to thievery, they never would have clashed with the Mourning Specter, never would have come all the way out to this forest. They never would have faced near-death, never would have been turned into Phantoms.
You could call it karma, I suppose. Though it's hard to accept when people like me and the folk of Yggdrasyl who never did anything wrong are suffering just as badly.
Now then, what to do? As I stood there mulling things over, Adler's hand slowly rose. Her fingertips touched the mask she wore.
And then — she casually removed it.
Before my speechless gaze, those black lipstick-painted lips curved into a smile.
"Heh heh heh… So that's the first thing you say upon seeing this form. It really drives the point home, doesn't it? And — those are some harsh words. But I don't think you'd understand. The feelings of someone who seeks power."
Huh? Wait — she hadn't been turned into a Phantom after all?
Quint and Uno followed Adler's lead, removing their own masks. Their eyes burned bright in the darkness of the night.
"Thousand Transformations. A man of divine schemes and ghostly stratagems like you — you must understand why we came back, right?"
How the hell would I know? I had no clue what was going on. Everyone kept going on about divine schemes and ghostly stratagems. If you label me a master strategist, it only cheapens the title.
My sentimental mood evaporated entirely.
I sighed and went with the most reasonable guess.
"Revenge… or something?"
Because I'd been incompetent as a master, they'd come to attack me before leaving Yggdrasyl? Even Adler wouldn't propose that insane a theory, would she?
Also — where did she get that mask?
"Heh… revenge, you say. I suppose in a sense, it could be considered revenge."
You've got to be kidding me. The Thousand Ghost Night Parade really was something else. Becoming forced apprentices, learning nothing, and then deciding to get revenge — that was pure spite.
Adler twirled her spear and leveled it at me. Quint drew the Treasure Weapon sword that had been returned to him, and Uno pointed her staff my way. I couldn't see Yuden, but was she underground again?
I was a man not even worth killing, so I couldn't understand why everyone kept targeting my life. Even without Adler commanding a single Monster, I'd be an easy win.
Since resistance was futile anyway, I flashed a hard-boiled smile and tried to avoid the fight.
"I have no intention of fighting. Sorry, but I've got a tomorrow to live for."
"…And yet here you are, the night before a battle with a god, with that kind of confidence. Well, too bad — but fight me you will!"
What was this fool talking about?
Adler might not have known, but the Treasure Hall weakening operation had been a success. The Origin Temple's barrier was gone, and a god couldn't very well maintain its existence without one.
Adler's spear thrust forward at godlike speed. I accepted the attack without so much as flinching.
No — to be precise, I couldn't move a muscle fast enough to react.
It turned out the spear I'd assumed was ceremonial was actually quite functional as a weapon.
A sweeping slash with a wide rotation of the shaft, followed by a rapid series of thrusts. The black spearhead cleaved through the darkness, raising wind and a sharp whistle.
Demon Lord Adler. Her skill with the spear was genuinely impressive. With that alone, she could make a decent living as a Hunter.
The combination was fluid, almost like a martial demonstration.
She lunged, thrust, swept. Adler halted the spearhead right before my eyes and spat out her words.
"After all that… not even a flicker of composure, huh? I've been training with this spear quite seriously, you know — and this is rather demoralizing."
That's my line.
Her thrusts had grazed my clothes multiple times, but remarkably, not a single Barrier Ring had activated.
The reason I'd been standing there in the middle of the onslaught was simply because I couldn't react, but the fact that the Barrier Rings hadn't fired must have meant Adler had narrowly missed each time. I'd say that was even harder than actually hitting me.
Adler spoke with eyes as sharp as her spear's point.
"The power of a god — Keller's power. You underestimated it. That wasn't just any Phantom. Even in its weakened state, far from full strength, it was stronger than any Monster or Phantom we've ever faced. No matter how high your Level 8 may be, I really don't think you could tame something like that."
"…What? Don't tell me you were actually trying to enslave a god?"
"!?! What… did you say?!"
My words made Quint stare at me in stunned disbelief.
Even with the power to command Monsters, attempting to bring a god's Phantom to heel was beyond reckless, wasn't it?
Truly, there was no limit to their arrogance. I'd love to learn from them (big lie).
And besides — "no matter how high your Level 8, you couldn't tame something like that"? As if I'd even want to!
"You need to draw clear lines between what you can and can't do, what you should and shouldn't do…"
What did they take me for, honestly? Just because they wanted to enslave it didn't mean everyone shared that ambition.
My words must have been quite the shock, because Adler and the others had frozen completely.
In the end, I still had no idea what had happened to them or why they'd come back, but honestly, I wasn't that curious.
I wasn't one for idle chit-chat. Before they changed their minds and resumed attacking, let me wrap this up.
"Well, we're planning to storm the Origin Temple tomorrow. We've got our own objectives, you see."
"…Keller is strong."
Adler's voice was strained, heavy with genuine conviction.
Had Adler not understood the meaning of Citry's operation? Even I had grasped it to some degree — maybe Adler was dumber than I thought.
What did they think we'd been trying to accomplish by manipulating the Ley Lines and cutting off the Mana Material supply?
I snorted confidently.
"I know. That's precisely why I need it gone before it can unleash that power."
§ § § Thousand Transformations departed with an air of complete nonchalance. Adler could only watch him leave in a daze.
After they'd vanished, how much time had passed before Uno finally spoke in a hoarse voice?
"He's… gone. But this time, it was a total failure. To think that Kurai-san never intended to enslave Keller at all…"
"Absolutely."
The Masked God — Keller.
The god's Phantom that Adler and the others had attempted to negotiate with possessed power far beyond their imagination. Its ability was so overwhelming that merely learning a fraction of it would have dispelled any thought of using it for their own purposes.
Looking back, that man must have understood Keller's power from the very beginning. That was why he hadn't so much as twitched an eyebrow when he saw the god through the Manifest Mirror. And that assessment had been entirely correct.
The Treasure Hall weakening operation, despite its twists and turns, had been a success. The flow of power into the Origin Temple had been drastically reduced, and Keller's consciousness — which had been only halfway restored — should have fallen back into slumber.
Right up until the moment Adler and the others attempted their bargain.
Thousand Transformations' strategy had been perfect, but if you had to name its most brilliant aspect, it was that it made it nearly impossible for the Origin Temple side to grow suspicious.
Mana Material accumulation was a natural phenomenon. Its fluctuations were primarily caused by tectonic shifts and similar geological events, and while Keller may have noticed the anomaly, it would never have occurred to it to take concrete action.
And yet — Adler and the others had changed that.
A sharp twinge throbbed in the wound from the battle with Keller.
I'd applied basic first aid, but swinging the spear at full force had reopened the gash. I'd been careful not to let it show on my face, but that man had surely seen right through me.
Under normal circumstances, a single hit should have killed me. The only reason the wound wasn't worse was thanks to Yuden. While Yuden was serving as a shield, I'd managed to use Ripper — and that had saved my life, barely.
But the price had been far too steep. Even Yuden, an ancient relic revered as a godlike being, had been unable to so much as scratch Keller.
That thing was — a true monster. And for that monster, Adler and the others hadn't even qualified as enemies. If it had recognized them as threats, they would never have survived.
"We're the enemies of the world, aren't we."
"We were enemies from the very start, Lord Adler. We're Demon Lords, after all."
"Can't be helped. That's the fate of a Guide Hand. Right?"
For a Guide Hand, commanding Monsters was instinct. And that ability was unacceptable in modern society.
So Adler and the others chose to be the oppressors rather than the oppressed. That was all there was to it.
But this time, it had been an unmitigated failure on Adler's part.
She'd believed a deal was possible. Keller, whose resurrection had been delayed by the dwindling Mana Material supply, should have needed partners who could mobilize at any time.
And Adler and the others had inadvertently restored it — the ancient god that should have fallen back into slumber.
All of their miscalculations stemmed from Keller's authority. Not magic, not martial arts — the special ability that had turned an ordinary human being into a god.
"'External Sense'… to think it actually had an ability like that."
Adler and the others had come to Thousand Transformations to leave no regrets behind.
The negotiation had failed. Keller's cooperation was unattainable, and having sustained serious injuries, there was no chance of victory even against Thousand Transformations.
But if they hadn't at least challenged him now, their pride as the Thousand Ghost Night Parade would have hit rock bottom.
In the end, they hadn't even been considered worthy opponents — but somehow, that brought a sense of clean resolution.
"Heh heh… it seems even our actions were part of his plan."
Thousand Transformations had looked at Adler and the others and hadn't asked a single question about their situation.
In the end, Adler and the others had been dancing in the palm of his hand from start to finish.
From their apprenticeship under Thousand Transformations to their unilateral defection — now, it all made sense.
That man had probably — used the Thousand Ghost Night Parade to resurrect Keller.
"External Sense" was a powerful ability. The power Adler and the others possessed — to command Monsters — was an anomalous mutation that had emerged in humans, but Keller's ability was on an entirely different level.
Adler didn't regret confronting Keller. Since the other party had no willingness to cooperate, battle had been inevitable.
But knowing the enemy was powerful and still challenging them only to be defeated without landing a blow — that was Adler's responsibility as their leader.
That man would never have ended up in such an ugly situation. Adler didn't know what strategies he would have employed, but she felt an inexplicable certainty about it.
She let out a small sigh. Her body was growing heavier.
Ever since arriving here — no, ever since first encountering the Mourning Specter, it had been nothing but one shock after another.
The legendary city of the Spiritfolk, the terrifying Phantom of the temple-style Treasure Hall, an ancient god resurrected from ages past — and a man who wielded the same power as Adler and the others, but with entirely different goals.
She had never once questioned the path she walked, but perhaps this was the crossroads for Adler and the others.
Would she continue living as a Demon Lord, or would she use her power to help someone — the way Thousand Transformations did?
She'd lost too much blood. One moment of carelessness and she'd lose consciousness. Her body temperature was dropping.
Uno and Quint were likely in the same state. Life was slipping away from all of them.
Whether they could survive was uncertain, but they could still flee.
She looked at Ripper perched atop Uno's head. The scissors gripped in its hand were riddled with large cracks across their entirety, on the verge of crumbling. It was almost surprising they hadn't fallen apart yet.
One more cut through space, and the scissors would shatter into pieces. And whether they could regenerate without their master — even Uno didn't know.
"But before we flee — let me see whether a human can truly defeat a god."
That man intended to fight Keller. The very same god that had slaughtered Yuden with ease and demonstrated overwhelming superiority over Adler and them.
By any normal reckoning, a human couldn't possibly beat a god. But Thousand Transformations was also a monster.
He'd said he needed Keller gone before it could unleash its power. But Keller had already recovered enough to dispatch Yuden effortlessly.
Just how far ahead had that man calculated?
And with what kind of extraordinary stratagem did he intend to defeat a god with invincible abilities?
Adler glared in the direction Thousand Transformations had departed for a long while, enduring the pain, before finally rising unsteadily and vanishing into the darkness of the night.
§ § § I was dreaming. A dream of a grassland at night. A crescent moon floating in the sky. Darkness. A black meadow stretching endlessly in every direction. At its center stood a single humanoid figure.
I said humanoid rather than human because it was clearly draped in an aura entirely different from any person's. High-level Hunters carried a distinctive presence — an aura — that marked the strong.
But this aura was unlike anything I'd encountered on any Hunter I'd met.
If I had to pick the closest match, it would be — the Phantom I encountered at the Wayward Inn.
Not a dragon, not a demon, not a magical beast. A transcendent being that had once been called a god.
Even someone with poor crisis-detection instincts like me could sense the pressure at a glance.
The body was small, but that didn't matter.
And its face — was covered by a white mask that looked as though it had been carved from bone.
Strangely, information about its origins flowed directly into my brain.
The Masked God — Keller.
An ancient warrior born into a bloodline with a singular ability beyond magic or martial arts, who had slain a god and become one himself.
The mask covering its face was made from the bones of a god.
Its hand rose slowly, and a single index finger pointed at me.
A sickly wind blew. The grass that had been growing rippled in waves.
And then — without warning, the ground collapsed beneath my feet, opening into a vast hole.
The dream was far too vivid — I could even feel the wind brushing against my skin.
But I didn't fall into the hole. No matter how real it felt, it was still a dream.
Suddenly, a voice filled with exasperation echoed through my mind.
*'What a dull-witted man… the attack passes right through. The antenna is… far too weak. Is this truly the Hero?'* I felt like I'd just been insulted.
As I stood there in a daze, Keller transmitted its will to me in a silent voice.
*'Your interference with my temple — impressive. Kneel, and swear your loyalty. Then I shall grant you salvation. Weakness is sin — strength alone is my teaching. I do not deal with the defeated.'*