"I am soooooorrriiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"
"!?! What are you apologizing for, you idiiooooot!"
"C-Calm down, Lord Franz! First we need to hear him out—"
Imperial Capital Zebuldia—one of the most powerful nations in the world.
I, Klye Andrich, had been summoned to the Imperial Palace at its very center.
The capital had undergone a dramatic transformation over the past few days.
Apparently, Phantoms had begun appearing throughout the city.
Fortunately, I hadn't encountered any Phantoms myself yet, and since it was such an unbelievable phenomenon I could only say "apparently"—but the Hunters and the Knights had all been mobilized and were scrambling to respond, so it had to be true.
There hadn't been any reports of gruesome incidents so far, but that might simply be due to the overwhelming military might that the great nation of Zebuldia possessed.
I'd been led to a spacious room that resembled a conference hall.
Right from the start, I performed a magnificent prostration—and was met with a barrage of angry shouts. The voice sounded oddly familiar.
Come to think of it, that was Lord Franz—no, just Franz-san. It felt like I'd been crossing paths with him an awful lot lately.
In my penitent posture—face pressed firmly against the carpet, of course—a solemn voice addressed me.
"Stand up, Thousand Transformations. That's not why I had you summoned."
Tentatively, I raised my head.
The interior was surprisingly spartan and sturdy for the inside of a great nation's imperial palace—almost no decorations at all. A large room furnished with expansive tables, around which sat grim-faced individuals. Based on their attire, they were probably nobles.
Franz-san stood rigidly at the far end of the room. His face was beet red and trembling.
And at the very back of the room, seated with imposing gravity, was a man in his prime. Was that… His Majesty the Emperor?
Wait—was that voice from earlier the Emperor himself?
I'd steeled myself to some degree when I received the summons, but this unexpected turn of events had me ready to throw up.
The Emperor of a great power like Zebuldia wasn't the kind of person you could meet even if you wanted to, let alone for a casual visit.
Being summoned before the Emperor without even an audience—what was going to happen to me?
Franz-san was huffing and puffing, trying to catch his breath, while glaring at me.
"………Thousand Transformations. Do you understand why you've been summoned?"
I wanted to say I didn't—but for once, I actually did.
In fact, I'd accepted the summons precisely because I understood.
Over the years, I'd been dragged into all sorts of incidents, the vast majority of which were in no way my fault. Even when they were, it was maybe ten percent at most.
But this time, despite not fully understanding the reasoning behind it, I bore clear and undeniable responsibility.
Not ten percent—maybe seven… no, probably around fifty.
Now that things had escalated to this magnitude, there was no wriggling out of it or playing dumb.
Besides, even if I kept my mouth shut, Lucia would talk. And that was the right thing to do.
I took a deep breath and said with as much remorse as I could muster: "…It's about how I pressed a button, which caused Phantoms to start appearing in the city, right?"
"!?!?!?!"
The room fell deathly silent.
The change that occurred when I pressed that button in the Treasure Hall had been catastrophic—on par with a code collapse.
Nothing visibly changed. But the shift was obvious even to someone as oblivious as me.
If I had to describe it, maybe everything around me had changed.
I still had no idea what that button was. But since Phantoms had begun appearing in the capital the very night I pressed it, it was only natural to assume a causal relationship.
Well, I couldn't completely rule out coincidence!!
I'd always fantasized about fleeing the capital if my childhood friends ever caused some outrageous incident, but now that I'd actually caused one, I had absolutely no intention of running.
It wasn't on purpose…… No, it really had been an elaborate trap.
A brief silence. Then Franz-san spoke in a hoarse voice.
"Wait a moment. What did you just say?"
"Um… that Phantoms started appearing because I pressed a button where I'd been spirited away?"
"??? Wh-what are you saying exactly? You're telling me that you—you personally—are responsible for the chaos we're dealing with right now?"
"Well… probably?"
"………………"
Franz-san's face turned crimson as he trembled with the fury of a demon. The other nobles wore expressions that mingled confusion and anger. As for the Emperor, he had furrowed his brow and closed his eyes.
So this is what happens when you cause a truly serious incident…
I had at least a working knowledge of Imperial law. If this had been intentional, it would unquestionably have been a capital offense.
How well I could convince them this was an accident would determine the severity of my punishment.
"Bu-but it wasn't on purpose! You see, the whole reason the kidnapping cases weren't resolved is partly to blame too—"
"………………"
I'd heard the circumstances of why Lucia had been there.
If the kidnapping cases had been solved, I wouldn't have been lured to the Treasure Hall, and I never would have pressed the button. The investigation had been led by the Knights, so you could arguably say the button being pressed was their negligence……… No, that wouldn't fly, would it?
"…………"
This atmosphere was getting dangerous. I'd come prepared to be furiously reprimanded, but this silence was terrifying.
Franz-san's face was so red it looked like he might genuinely be worried about. All I could do was grovel.
I made the most apologetic expression I could manage and said: "I'm truly, deeply sorry. …By the way, I heard that the victims of the kidnappings were all miraculously unharmed?"
"…………All of them are safe."
"I also heard that there were no casualties from the Phantoms, thanks to the Knights and Hunters being on standby………"
That was from Eva. I checked every time—casualties were something I took very seriously.
If anyone had died because of my mistake, no amount of apologizing would ever be enough.
"…………"
"…………"
"…………"
"…………"
My words ushered in another dreadful silence across the room. This level of tension was going to haunt my dreams.
Eventually, Franz-san spoke in a trembling voice: "Y-You, who always insists he 'doesn't know anything'—this time you're confessing to doing it yourself? What are you playing at?"
What am I playing at?… I'd come here thinking I'd been summoned precisely because of what I'd done? Hiding it would only come out eventually, and it was better to apologize sooner rather than later.
"…No, I really don't know anything most of the time. But this time I do know… Honesty is a virtue, right? If you want to verify whether what I'm saying is true, why not use the usual 'Tears of Truth'…"
The Empire's national treasure, the Tears of Truth, could easily prove I wasn't lying. It would make things crystal clear.
But Franz-san's expression didn't change despite my suggestion to use a Treasure Weapon of his own accord.
He simply took several deep breaths and asked in a shaking voice: "So in other words, Thousand Transformations. We can take it that you believe you know everything about this kidnapping incident?"
"That's… not exactly great?"
I didn't know! Far from knowing everything, I knew nothing!
"The only thing I know is what I did. And I was deceived! It was the Phantom's elaborate trap! Seriously, how could I know anything when I've been confined to the Clan Master's room this whole time?!"
"You…! To add insult to—"
Franz-san seemed unusually restrained today. Come to think of it, maybe it was because the Emperor was sitting right next to him? With all these nobles present, he probably couldn't afford to fly off the handle.
Now might be… a good time to ask a question.
One of my purposes in coming here was to apologize. The other was that there was something I needed to confirm.
I'd need to verify the scale and number of damages, but there was one more thing.
"Um… there's one thing I'd like to confirm."
"What is it?"
As I timidly raised my hand, Franz-san directed a gaze at me that practically radiated killing intent.
I took a deep breath, steeled my courage, and asked: "Does this case… fall under Imperial law?"
"!?!?!?!"
Franz-san's eyes went wide, and for an instant the rage vanished from his face.
Just as it was about to morph back into a demonic expression, the Emperor, who had been sitting beside him, let out a sigh and spoke: "Thousand Transformations. I understand your position. This incident is without precedent, and naturally it falls under Imperial law—but we need time to properly assess the situation. I order the continuation of your confinement. Stay put until we deliver our verdict."
§ § § Thousand Transformations left the conference room with that irritating, brazen, and slightly apologetic expression on his face.
Franz Argraman wanted nothing more than to throw everything to the winds and scream.
The only reason he hadn't yet—barely managing to hold it in—was the Emperor sitting beside him, and the track record of treatment he'd received from Thousand Transformations over the years.
The conference room was suffused with an indescribable atmosphere. No one could say a word. This was an impossible situation at a gathering of Imperial nobles.
But it was precisely because Thousand Transformations' remarks had been so outrageous that things had reached this point.
Franz and the others had summoned Thousand Transformations to hear the details of the incident. In truth, however, Franz hadn't expected him to actually provide answers. He'd consistently maintained ignorance through every major incident to date, so naturally.
But that had been fine. Regarding the cause of these kidnappings—the Treasure Hall—Hew had already brought back a certain amount of intelligence.
A Treasure Hall that fed on human terror—Star God's Diorama.
When they'd decided to relocate the capital to the site of a former temple-type Treasure Hall, they'd factored in a certain level of risk. But there had been reasons that demanded the move regardless of the risk. By constructing a large city, they could absorb Mana Materials and prevent another temple-type Treasure Hall from manifesting.
And the results had indeed shown.
The Phantoms that spilled out from the Treasure Hall weren't particularly strong. At the very least, they couldn't breach the formations Franz had deployed.
The Phantoms' weakness compared to those of a true temple-type Treasure Hall was undoubtedly due to the shortage of Mana Materials. And that proved the then-Emperor of Zebuldia had been correct in deciding to relocate.
Within the Empire, the current events were being judged as akin to a natural disaster.
No one had died, and had they not relocated, an even more powerful Treasure Hall would have manifested at this location, causing damage beyond comparison. No one could be blamed—not the Hunters, not the Knights, who'd been unable to resolve the incident early……
Or so it should have been.
All of that had been shattered—by the testimony of the summoned Thousand Transformations.
He'd done it himself? And in a public setting, no less—truly the worst-case scenario.
An incident that was supposed to have no culprit now had a mastermind. This couldn't be dismissed as a joke. It had become a situation that demanded to be taken seriously.
Honesty is a virtue? What was that man thinking?!
Failing to provide necessary information while freely giving unnecessary information was truly the worst.
And claiming he'd done it himself?
If it had been something that couldn't have been prevented, Franz could have forgiven it. But him saying he'd done it—what did that even mean?!
"Let's hear everyone's opinion."
The Emperor—famed for his powerful physique—sighed and asked for input.
"Well, if we apply Imperial law as-is and follow normal procedure, it would be capital punishment or, at best, permanent exile."
"That man has never been cooperative with the Empire. It's practically a miracle that an ordinary Hunter hasn't been expelled already."
What nonsense. He hadn't been expelled precisely because he wasn't an ordinary Hunter.
The fact that he'd never been held accountable before was unusual, but it was also perfectly natural.
Franz had certainly considered throwing Thousand Transformations into prison.
But that had been in response to his violation of the confinement order. If the charge became "releasing Phantoms," it was far too serious.
Undoubtedly, under Imperial law, capital punishment or permanent exile was the appropriate sentence. He'd done something that even the most deranged criminal wouldn't dare.
But that would be far too hasty.
At that point, one of the nobles raised an objection.
"Wait, wait, wait. We mustn't forget our diplomatic relations with Yggdra. If we sentence Thousand Transformations to death now, all negotiations could be put back to square one."
"Don't be absurd……I heard Princess Selen is quite enthusiastic. Regardless of her personal ties, invalidating relations by punishing a criminal isn't something a nation's representative would do, and the people wouldn't allow it."
No—Princess Selen would absolutely do it. And no one among Yggdra's other citizens would object to her decision.
In a sense, Yggdra was a dictatorship with Princess Selen at its apex.
Even in Zebuldia, the Emperor held tremendous power, but the authority Princess Selen wielded in Yggdra dwarfed it. For the people of Yggdra, Selen Yggdra Frestel was a living god. If she said yes, it was yes. If she said no, it was no. Her high-ranking Spiritfolk advisors might offer opinions, but they would never challenge a decision.
"Letting our diplomatic relations with Yggdra fall apart now would be disastrous. Do you have any idea how much they're being anticipated? And how many nations are vying for that position?"
That was true. The reason the capital had remained lively despite the baffling kidnapping incidents was because the far greater event of establishing diplomatic ties with Yggdra was underway. Canceling that now would be the greatest blunder since the Empire's founding. And Selen—who was free-spirited and casually toured the capital—was enormously popular among its people.
Moreover, expelling Thousand Transformations was the worst possible choice.
The man was terrible, but extraordinarily capable. This very incident had immediately begun to resolve once he'd taken action.
What he'd done was despicable, but that despicable act wasn't something just anyone could pull off even if they tried. Even as a criminal, there would be no shortage of nations eager to recruit him.
"But we can't simply acquit him. The law is the law."
"Exactly! He confessed to his own crime—we have no choice but to judge him!"
As the voices rose, Franz clenched his fists to their limit and declared: "Of course. Zebuldia is a nation of law. No matter how inconvenient, failing to judge a criminal would be an example to no one. And he's confessed."
"But… but there were no victims, were there? I heard it was because Lord Franz swiftly deployed his formations."
That was true. There were no victims—at least, no deaths in this incident.
No, not just this time. Throughout all the incidents Thousand Transformations had caused, no one had ever died.
That was infuriating, but it meant that man had read Franz's every move. He'd predicted that Franz would rouse the sleeping Hunters and Knights, scramble to full readiness, and that the assembled forces would be capable of handling the Phantom incursion.
Everything—all of it—had been within Thousand Transformations' palm.
And right now, that man was probably enjoying the sight of Franz and the others running around in a panic. If that wasn't the lowest of the low, what was?
Just then, one of the nobles—Lord Gradius, known as the Sword of the Empire—as if struck by a sudden thought, said: "…Come to think of it, I heard a rumor that that man has a habit of testing people. He gives trials right at the edge of someone's capability, regardless of whether they accept or not."
"…Lord Gradius, are you suggesting that man was testing Lord Franz?"
At those words, the conference room buzzed. Under normal circumstances, testing a noble would be unthinkable.
But if it was that man, he'd do it. Noble or colleague, friend or stranger—it didn't matter. That was the man Franz had investigated and personally experienced: Thousand Transformations.
"From the Relic Investigation Institute's perspective, this event falls into uncharted territory. We believe it cannot be treated as an individual's crime. Even if Thousand Transformations did something—no one could have predicted that Phantoms would appear throughout the capital."
"The Astrodivination Institute agrees. If he was deceived, that should be considered during sentencing."
"Who would believe that a Level 8 known for his divine strategy and demonic planning was deceived?"
The debate was gradually fracturing. In Franz's estimation, about half the nobles here probably didn't think highly of Thousand Transformations. Yet still, no one could decide on his fate.
Charge him or not? If so, how severe should the punishment be?
And above all—did a prison even exist that could contain a man of such unfathomable ability?
The Emperor spoke in a weighty voice: "Even if it was a test, the crime doesn't become lighter. If we accept the excuse that he was 'deceived,' Zebuldia would be the laughingstock of the world."
"…Your Majesty speaks truly. At this point, no deaths have occurred, but if the situation continues, casualties could appear at any time. Although the Phantoms aren't particularly powerful—under Imperial law, Thousand Transformations' execution is unavoidable at present. We would need a reason to mitigate his crime."
In truth, the Phantoms that had started appearing were not particularly strong. Based on current observations, while their forms were alien, their combat capabilities were low. Powerful Phantoms had appeared, sure, but high-level Hunters had dealt with them without issue.
There had been no reports of any manifestation capable of conjuring the specific terror that had been set upon Hew, and for now, the Knights and Hunters could handle things.
But they couldn't maintain this heightened state of alert indefinitely, and there was no guarantee that more combat-specialized entities wouldn't appear.
As long as those possibilities remained, Thousand Transformations' execution was unavoidable.
But mitigating those threats was absolutely impossible. To destroy the Treasure Hall, one would have to deal with the Mana Materials flowing through its Ley Line—a practice banned worldwide. While the safety of the populace came first, the capital's residents were currently preventing a temple-type Treasure Hall from manifesting, so they couldn't very well abandon the city.
Given the circumstances, the Explorer's Guild wouldn't object to a death sentence. But even with all those conditions in place—executing that man was dangerous beyond measure.
Just as he reached that conclusion, Franz furrowed his brow.
No—wait. Why had that man confessed to doing it of his own free will this time?
Hateful as it was, Thousand Transformations' cunning was worthy of a Level 8. No, even without cunning, anyone with half a brain would have known that such a confession would lead to execution. At the end, the man had asked "does this break the law?"—of course it did.
In the first place, Thousand Transformations' confession could have gone entirely unnoticed if he'd simply stayed silent.
That man always had a purpose behind his actions. The theory that he'd done it just to inconvenience Franz couldn't be disproved, and that was the problem. But his confession this time should have had some objective as well.
A reason that would necessitate his execution……? Could he be planning to fake his own death?
As those thoughts crossed his mind, the lights in the room suddenly went out.
He shot to his feet and shouted.
"!?! All hands, battle stations! Protect His Majesty!"
The sudden darkness sent a ripple of unrest through the conference room. Nobles rose, and their escorting Knights instantly took combat positions.
A Zebuldia Knight was no fragile thing—incapable of fighting in the dark was simply not in their nature. The ability to fight was a noble's duty. There wasn't a single person in this conference room who couldn't see in the dark.
But what had happened? It wasn't magic. It wasn't an accident.
Could someone really have reached the deepest sanctum of the Imperial Palace—guarded by numerous elite Knights—without raising an alarm?
………Don't tell me that man Thousand Transformations had done something again?
Shuddering with dread, Franz watched as the door burst open.
A faint, pale-blue light spilled in from beyond. What emerged from the darkness was—a girl wearing the uniform of the Zebuldia Academy of Magic.
Franz shouted on reflex: "The Phantoms from the reports! Don't let it escape! All units, attack!"
At Franz's command, the Knights moved swiftly.
Training for encounters with unknown entities was a constant priority. After all, the capital had been dangerous lately. And the Knights who had fought in the Prophecy Incident had grown more capable than ever before.
One real battle was worth a hundred drills.
"So what if it's a girl?! Remember the 'Lament of the Abyss' you fought the other day! Compared to that curse, this is a piece of cake! Show them our martial valor!!"
In an instant, they suppressed the fear with sharpened killing intent.
The Knights closed in with refined, fluid movements. If one fell, a second would take their place; if two fell, a third would step up. The Knights of Zebuldia were brave.
The blade of the first Knight to charge swung down.
The moment it was about to reach the Phantom, a girl's voice echoed through the room: "I've had enough! I surrender!"
"………What?"
§ § § It was the worst. The state of the ladies after that man had pressed the button was truly, utterly the worst.
In the first place, the button he'd pressed was supposed to be pressed only after sufficient fear had been collected. And the ladies, having gathered ample human terror, should have been far more empowered.
But all of that was water under the bridge. Through that man's clumsy actions, the Treasure Hall—which had existed in a separate dimension—and the outside world had been fused together.
Even the ladies couldn't restore things to their original state.
She should have focused on Lucia instead. She should have handled the man's response herself.
The truly dangerous one wasn't a furious Lucia. It was Klye Andrich—the ladies couldn't see his capabilities, but he was hopelessly incompetent in ways they couldn't predict.
The merger of the Treasure Hall and the capital should have been avoided from the human side too—!
And what awaited the ladies, dumped into the capital in this half-fused state, was a hellish game of tag.
"There it is! A shark!"
"Don't let it get away—corner it!!"
A terrible monster harboring a grudge against humanity—a shark that was supposed to rampage ferociously, preying upon people, the Demon Shark—was being chased around by hordes of Hunters. This monster that had once sent countless humans to their doom was, in this world's Hunters' eyes, nothing more than an exotic animal.
"It regenerates! Aim for the brain!"
"It's just a shark! Getting bitten is nothing!"
Why could the people of this era survive a bite from a Demon Shark without batting an eye? Which side was the real monster? While arrows and magic flew through the air, the Demon Shark desperately fled.
"Gooooh! I'm coming! I'm coming!"
"Kirukirukirukirukiru!"
The Monster Diggy was being chased by a strange figure in nothing but underwear and a paper bag who had appeared from nowhere. With a casual swing, the creature crushed the thrown head in one hand and closed in relentlessly—that imposing presence would have been right at home in Star God's Diorama.
"Yaaaah! Preyyyy!"
"Luke's cheating!"
"Please catch me!! I'll modify you!!"
"!?!?"
The people who had been sealed within the Treasure Hall that Klye had released offered no salvation to the ladies.
It wasn't that the sealed individuals were weak.
There were three main factors.
The first was that the capital's Hunters were too strong.
No—not too strong, but too accustomed. The Phantoms had appeared suddenly, and yet the Hunters barely flinched. That was far too inconsistent with the general common sense the ladies had been granted upon manifestation.
The second was that, for whatever reason, the capital's defenses had been in perfect readiness.
If the ladies had managed to attack ordinary citizens first, they could have grown stronger. But being met with what amounted to an ambush left them helpless.
And the third, worst factor—was that the capital already had monsters that surpassed the ladies.
The paper-bag-wearing weirdo was one such entity, but so was the massive four-meter-tall man in full plate armor, and the witch who tried to incinerate them on sight, and the bloodthirsty swordsman who charged without a moment's hesitation. The ladies were completely outmatched in terms of sheer impact.
A passing little girl with wide eyes watched one of the ladies—a terrifying figure fleeing in panic, twisting her face into a bloody visage in an attempt to frighten. But the girl showed no more fear than mild curiosity.
When the lady genuinely wondered why this child wasn't afraid, the ordinary girl replied: "Huh? Because something scarier came out the other day. You look kinda similar to that one. It was called 'Lament of the Abyss'—"
And so, belatedly, the lady learned.
That just a few days ago, there had been an existence that plunged the entire capital into the depths of terror.
A cursed sword that turned swordsmen into killers. The Black World Tree that destroyed the Zebuldia Academy of Magic, along with the Church's most fearsome sealed relic. A secret potion that threw the Primus Magical Science Academy into chaos. And—taking the form of a colossal beast, a walking storm of destruction that rampaged through the capital, a curse of the Spiritfolk sung of in legend.
The images published in the newspapers she'd barely obtained showed those events in stark clarity, and frankly, they were far more spectacular and terrifying than anything in the ladies' Phantom arsenal. At the time, the Mana Material supply to the Treasure Hall hadn't yet been disrupted, and the ladies had been quietly carrying out the kidnappings, so they hadn't known.
With phenomena like that, it was no wonder they weren't feared.
If anything, the ladies had performed remarkably well under the circumstances.
With fear-collection going poorly, the chances of the Star God returning were slim.
Without being able to acquire meaningful fear, the ladies' future was bleak.
The ladies' abilities had also been severely limited by the fusion of the outside world and the Treasure Hall. They could no longer freely pass through gates or teleport at will.
Though the Treasure Hall itself wouldn't vanish, as a property of Treasure Halls, Phantoms that were no longer feared would simply disappear. With the Mana Material supply also diminished, the likelihood of a powerful Phantom manifesting that could turn things around was slim. If they could release the Phantom statue from the Star God's hidden chamber, things might be different—but the crown, which served as the switch, had been taken back by Klye Andrich. What had the Star God been thinking?
Just a week ago, things had been going more or less smoothly. But from the moment Saya entered the picture, everything had collapsed into an irredeemable mess. That left very few options.
Continue fighting as Phantoms until the very end and scatter into nothing—or else…….
In response to the lady's words, the man calling himself Franz said with a strained expression: "I-I see… So that's why you came to us…… Don't tell me… that man had predicted all of this?"
"A Phantom coming to negotiate is truly unprecedented. Really, for so many things to happen one after another—"
In the end, what the lady chose was—to negotiate with humans.
The humans' reactions to the lady's sudden arrival were varied. Astonishment, suspicion, a faint trace of fear. But there was no anger.
There had always been a fundamental difference between the ladies and ordinary Phantoms. For other Phantoms, humans were merely obstacles. But the ladies, who fed on human terror, needed humans. Even the Demon Shark—the most murderous among the ladies—couldn't survive without humans.
That was why the lady had been careful not to hinder the city's development while efficiently collecting fear, and had strictly ordered that humans not be killed unnecessarily.
The mission bestowed by the Star God wasn't to annihilate humanity, but to know their terror. The Star God, with its immense power, had no need for the ladies' strength to wipe out humanity.
In other words, if they simply shed their pride, the ladies could coexist with humans.
One of the men who had taken seats said: "And if we refuse to negotiate?"
"Simple. Phantoms will continue to appear, endlessly, chaotically, attacking people. You're strong, I'll grant you that. But can you really handle us when you never know where or when we'll appear?"
The people of this city had strong resistance to fear—but not every single one of them did. The only ones the ladies couldn't defeat were the combat-capable: Hunters, Knights, Mages.
The vast majority of this city's population were non-combatants. That was where their leverage lay. The thinnest thread of hope.
The lady didn't expect humans to trust Phantoms readily. Nor did she expect negotiations to be easily concluded.
But given enough time, she believed they'd understand that dealing with her was more beneficial.
The lady spoke with bravado for the sake of her companions.
The response was unexpected.
To words that could easily have been dismissed, the men wore serious expressions.
"I'd been wondering how this situation would be resolved, but so that's what this is……"
"There exists a method of controlling Phantoms that we thought was absolutely impossible."
"Thousand Transformations…… Could he really have, executed a plan like this……"
"If this is the case, there could be grounds for leniency."
What on earth were they talking about?……A plan?
The man who had been sitting beside Franz—almost certainly the highest-ranking individual in the room—spoke: "……Very well. Phantom. What is it you seek?"
"What I seek is……coexistence."
No killing. No venturing outside certain times and areas.
In exchange, her companions would not be subjected to unnecessary terror.
Of course, there were those among the ladies' faction who couldn't meet these conditions.
For example—the aberrations that had formed contracts with Saya. Those entities existed to harm humans, ignored the lady's commands fundamentally, and were fundamentally incompatible with the ladies.
But those aberrations were already finished. They had betrayed Saya and failed to eliminate her.
They had underestimated Saya. If they truly intended to ally with the ladies, they should have ensured Saya's end without fail.
The ladies absolutely did not want Saya Chromize as an enemy.
Saya's ability to summon aberrations—and to interfere with them—still had room to grow.
The aberrations must have instinctively known this. That was precisely why they had systematically eliminated Saya's clan one by one, leaving only a single member.
A member of one of the very few bloodlines that could summon them to this world—and the very clan that was their natural enemy.
Saya's power had grown by confronting aberration-like entities such as the ladies.
The attack wreathed in black-purple lightning that had inflicted devastating damage upon the ladies.
The ability to open doors to other dimensions—even doors that the aberrations themselves couldn't open—could not possibly be something that ended at mere observation.