Cool watched the rapidly shifting situation with the calm patience of someone waiting for a storm to pass.
He didn't have the nerve to butt in on the exchange between Thousand Transformations and Nora Code. None of his companions did either—even Rusha, who never read the room and always dove straight in without hesitation, stood in silence listening to their conversation.
Nora Code. Among the royals who rarely showed their faces publicly, she was one of the Code rulers feared by the common folk as a woman of ungovernable passion.
She commanded elite soldiers produced by a unique program different from that of the military automatons, and she wielded the strongest power base of any faction. The Code Empress, who openly opposed the Angus Code—the most powerful force of them all—carried an aura of intimidation that lived up to her fearsome reputation.
The grief and killing intent directed at Thousand Transformations, who had beaten her to the punch, was so concentrated that Cool and the others—who had absorbed a fair amount of Mana Material and explored numerous Treasure Halls while being dragged around by Krahi—felt genuinely overwhelmed by it.
Even the knights standing behind Nora radiated power that exceeded what Cool had imagined from prior intelligence. They were every bit as formidable as the elite knight order members outside who regularly trained in the Treasure Halls.
Despite supposedly never leaving the city, she had produced soldiers of this caliber. The technological prowess possessed by the Codes was truly terrifying.
And yet, what stood out even more was Thousand Transformations maintaining his usual demeanor in the face of this empress.
To begin with, Thousand Transformations had clearly outpaced Nora's movements. He had manipulated other royals into getting involved, and without lifting a finger himself, had arrived at the prison first.
The expression and words of Princess Nora when she had been wailing—she should have been unable to stop Thousand Transformations from filing Krahi's release request ahead of her. And yet he was offering to let Princess Nora go first. What on earth was he thinking?
The proposal must have caught the princess off guard as well. Right now, Princess Nora's fury appeared to have subsided somewhat.
But Cool could tell clearly that even as they stood there, Princess Nora's mind was racing at full speed.
Class Eight—royals held the authority to change the prison's rules.
According to the staff, rule changes supposedly had a certain cooldown period, but the five minutes she had mentioned during their initial conversation had long since elapsed.
Which meant that right now, Princess Nora could reshape the prison's rules however she pleased.
The situation had completely flipped, turning overwhelmingly against them.
Above all, Princess Nora was not someone who could be shown mercy.
A cruel personality who regarded citizens as less than human. The most terrifying princess, who had purged countless citizens on a whim.
Rumors held that among her subordinate knights, quite a few had been forcibly conscripted from the general populace. And she possessed the ability to train those citizens into knights and keep them under her control.
Even among princesses, the imprisoned Alicia and Princess Nora occupied entirely different positions and had entirely different personalities. Whether Thousand Transformations' promise of a no-brainwashing agreement would actually be honored remained doubtful.
Thousand Transformations' abilities were the real deal. While Cool and the others had run around on foot for days and accomplished little more than basic reconnaissance, he had produced superior results without ever leaving his spot in front of Princess Ohihima's room.
And yet, anxiety still gnawed at him. In Cool's eyes, Thousand Transformations still looked like an ordinary person—someone without exceptional talent, closer to Cool's own side of the spectrum, if anything.
Guided by staff, they descended the stairs toward the underground. Princess Nora had ordered her knights to remain behind, so for now she was alone.
Was he planning to ambush and neutralize Princess Nora at this moment?
Even now, the city's functions should have been protecting her. A direct assault from Cool and the group would likely be futile, though if a Level Eight went all out, perhaps the city's defense system wouldn't respond in time—but— Just then, Princess Nora, who had been silent until now, called out to Thousand Transformations walking ahead of her.
"You said you'd let me negotiate first, didn't you? You're not going back on your word?"
"Hm? Of course not. ……Well, I suppose I'll at least say hello."
"For the record, I've already reverted the rules that bastard changed."
Reverted the rules. In other words, the prison's rules had been rewritten to favor Thousand Transformations until just moments ago. With Tony Code's support, that had been entirely predictable.
If she had simply cooperated from the start, they would have already freed Krahi without any trouble by now— Rusha's face twisted for just an instant upon understanding Princess Nora's words.
But Thousand Transformations' tone didn't change.
"Huh……? Ah……yeah, yeah, that's right."
In a voice so laid-back it seemed as if he understood nothing at all, he responded. Princess Nora fell silent.
The lowest level was close. They passed through the tier where Cool and the others had been imprisoned, and the air gradually grew cooler.
No—the actual temperature hadn't changed.
This was—something in the air.
The city's system determined which tier to place criminals in based on danger level. He had heard that only the most violent offenders were held in the lower levels of the prison.
In other words, everyone imprisoned from here onward had been classified by the city system as being in Krahi's class.
Even in the outside world, fighters of Krahi's caliber were exceedingly rare. Cool had dismissed the rumors as embellishment, but apparently it was true that powerhouses incomparable to those in the upper levels were being held down here.
Involuntarily, Cool swallowed.
Unlike the upper levels, the rooms in the lowest tier didn't appear to have transparent walls. As they walked down the corridor lined with inorganic metal doors, goosebumps crept across his skin for no apparent reason. If even Cool—whose senses were hardly sharp—could feel it, the others surely felt the same. Zurii, walking beside him, wore a grim expression.
The staff walked with nervous tension. Princess Nora's expression was difficult to read—what was she thinking? The only one who looked unchanged was Klye.
And then, once more, Princess Nora spoke to Thousand Transformations. In a voice barely above a whisper.
"……What's your relationship with the Thunder Emperor?"
To that question, Thousand Transformations answered in an offhand tone.
"Hmm? Nothing special. Just—friends."
"——!?"
At that moment, Cool clearly saw a flicker of composure shatter across Princess Nora's face.
Her eyes, which had blazed like flames when she first burst onto the scene, flew wide open, and her gaze darted left and right.
Cool and the others were in the same party as Krahi. Even if they had said the same words, they could never have provoked that kind of reaction from Princess Nora.
Klye fell silent again. Princess Nora's lips trembled slightly as she spoke.
A voice completely opposite to the rage from moments before—confused, faltering.
"Klye Andrich……!? Th-that name is—"
Had she just looked it up? As Princess Nora failed to hide her agitation, Thousand Transformations said: "? Yeah, hard to believe, right? The truth is, I'm—a counterfeit of him."
"A false name—c-could it be—that you came to this city—to save the Thunder Emperor!?"
"Huh……? …………No way. It's just—on the way, is all. Just passing through."
Thousand Transformations put on a half-hearted grin.
No way. There was absolutely no way that was true.
The Mourning Specter had attacked the Code not on anyone else's orders, but entirely by Krahi's own decision. And that fact was known neither to other hunters or friends—nor even to the Explorer's Guild.
Klye Andrich was not a false name, and he was no counterfeit. If anything, it was Krahi who was closer to being the counterfeit. Krahi Andrich itself was not a pseudonym, but it was the alias that Cool and the others had deliberately set up for Thousand Transformations to assume.
Princess Nora's expression shifted rapidly.
Then the staff member stopped abruptly. Glancing fearfully at Princess Nora, he said: "……Princess Nora, we've arrived. This is the Thunder Emperor's room."
Princess Nora didn't respond. Only her slender frame, wrapped in that crimson dress, gave a faint shudder.
The wall turned transparent.
There he was—the very person Cool had been running around trying to rescue: Krahi Andrich himself.
Krahi's treatment was on an entirely different level from what Cool and the others had endured.
Several months since the Martial Emperor Festival. His body, once hardened through rigorous training, was covered in wounds, and his limbs were chained to the four corners of the room by thick iron links, suspending him in midair.
Unlike Cool and the others, he had probably been chained up the entire time. It was obvious that both his stamina and spirit had been pushed to the breaking point.
Rusha started to let out something like a scream, then frantically clapped a hand over her mouth.
Princess Nora, who had said she would negotiate first, didn't move. Thousand Transformations strolled past her and stood before Krahi, who hung suspended in the air.
Princess Nora said nothing. She simply stared blankly at Thousand Transformations, who had stepped forward.
Then Thousand Transformations raised a hand to his mouth, thought for a few seconds, and looked up at Krahi with a casual greeting.
"Hey, long time no see. You look rough. Well, compared to Cool and the others, you're still in decent shape. They looked like they could drop dead any second……"
"!?"
An utterly unremarkable greeting—completely devoid of any deeper meaning—that no one could have predicted. Princess Nora held her breath.
What meaning could this greeting possibly hold? Cool had just begun to wonder that when— A violent burst of purple lightning scattered through the cell.
It wasn't generated by the city system. It was the power of lightning, the natural enemy of all Codes—the very power that earned him the title of Thunder Emperor. But compared to when it was unleashed outside, it was far smaller in scale, not leaving a single scratch on the chains or walls.
The staff member's face went rigid, and Klye—though there was no reason for it—took a startled step backward.
Krahi's bowed head lifted slightly. His half-opened eyes held a light that belied someone who had been imprisoned for over a month.
His cracked, dried lips curved into the faintest smile.
At some point, Princess Nora had dropped to her knees. Her eyes were wide with blank astonishment. Her bare shoulders trembled slightly.
Thousand Transformations looked down at her with round eyes and said: "I'm done saying hello. Nora?"
Princess Nora remained frozen for a while, but eventually, as if conceding defeat, she lowered her gaze and answered.
"………………You win, Klye Andrich. Do as you please with the Thunder Emperor."