East Seal Prison Island. The territory of the organization existed near the center of the massive prison that had been built across the entirety of the island.
Formed by gathering martial-arts-oriented criminal organizations from across the land, at one point said to have amassed military power rivaling that of an entire nation and feared by countries everywhere—the "Eight-Forked Serpent," commonly known as "the Serpent."
Several years ago, the organization's executives were captured one after another, and the organization itself collapsed. But for that incident, it would still reign atop the countless criminal organizations today—a colossal outfit.
The Serpent's strength lay in the quality of its combatants. By gathering eight martial-arts organizations and binding them together, it had amassed numerous high-Level Hunter-class fighters. By completely monopolizing several Treasure Halls best suited for ability enhancement, it raised the overall quality of its forces while simultaneously cultivating talented individuals.
And most of those combatants who had made the organization's power unshakable were still at large—uncaptured.
The central district of the prison island. A room with furnishings—something almost nonexistent in this prison.
One of the former top executives of the Eight-Forked Serpent, Aoja, frowned at the report from the food procurement squad.
"Is that information confirmed?"
"We're currently verifying with the people outside."
The combatants stationed for food procurement weren't top-tier, but they weren't weak either. In this prison where rules didn't apply, not being taken lightly was far more important than in the outside world.
Prisoners not under the Serpent's umbrella knew this too, which was why they hadn't recklessly made any moves. But this time, being driven back—that, regardless of who the culprit was, constituted a declaration of war against the organization.
"Either way, if someone's claiming to be a member of Thousand Transformations—the Mourning Specter—we can't just sit here and do nothing, Boss Ao."
One of the soldiers who had been captured alongside him suppressed his anger with a laugh.
He was right. The trigger for the organization's collapse had been the Mourning Specter barging into a meeting between the bosses.
It had truly been a lightning-fast surprise attack. Only the eight top executives—no one but the bosses themselves—should have known that a meeting would be held that day.
Having minimal guards to prevent information leaks had also been a miscalculation.
There had been no traitor. The worst people had made the worst move at the worst possible time. That was all there was to it.
And with that alone, a mere single party had become the trigger for a colossus's collapse.
Their food had been stolen. Normally, this was the kind of case where you'd thoroughly investigate the opponent's information before settling the score. When those fox people had actually been transferred to this prison, they had acted cautiously. But when the leader of Thousand Transformations—the Mourning Specter—got involved, the situation was entirely different.
Remaining silent would set a poor example for his subordinates. The option of bringing them into the fold was also off the table this time.
Aoja called out to the loyal mage who had been standing behind him.
"Hey, Himuro. Go check on the people who picked a fight with us. If you can finish them off, do it on the spot."
At Aoja's command, Himuro—the ice mage who served as his bodyguard and a senior combatant of the organization—broke into a smile.
"That's more like it. Besides, Thousand Transformations was that woman's brother, wasn't he? It's a shame she's not here herself, but—"
Himuro had been one of the few senior combatants present on that day when the organization called the Serpent was destroyed, granted the honor of guarding the executives.
As a mage who had honed her craft relentlessly, Himuro was known both inside and outside the organization by the name "Absolute Ice"—an ice mage of considerable renown. For her, the fact that her own defeat had led to the organization's destruction, and that the one who had defeated her was a fellow mage, had become one of the indelible stains on her life.
Prison Island stripped prisoners of their power, but there were individual differences. Himuro, who had been a top-class mage within the organization, had been imprisoned for some time now but still retained enough ability to cast powerful offensive magic. The leader of the Mourning Specter hadn't participated in the battle when the Serpent was attacked, but depending on the situation, she could surely be eliminated.
Normally, senior combatants other than Himuro should have been deployed, but unlike Himuro, who was Aoja's direct subordinate, assigning other senior combatants required going through the other executives.
"If we're keeping an eye on the foxes, we can't move them, huh. Himuro, take some useful ones with you—they'll at least serve as meat shields."
A secret society on par with the Serpent: the Nine-Tailed Shadow Fox. Even with all the Serpent's resources, they had never been able to uncover the full picture. Two boss-class members of that organization were currently imprisoned here.
Only two, but it seemed the Nine-Tailed Shadow Fox demanded combat capability even from its executive class. They were formidable fighters. In fact, a senior Serpent combatant who had provoked them right after their imprisonment had been killed after a fierce battle.
From just two people, they had gathered allies and now commanded a force that rivaled a power splitting the prison island in two. The foxes couldn't be completely ignored.
"Roger that. Leave it to me, Boss Ao. A head-on fight is one thing, but for a surprise attack, I can take down even a Level 8. Just sit tight and leave it all to me."
Himuro puffed out her narrow chest and spoke with overflowing confidence to the frowning Aoja.
Himuro's magic was suited for assassination. She had even killed high-Level Hunters before, and her loss to Lucia Roje had been partly due to unfavorable circumstances.
"Oh, right. Make sure to capture that man called Jack alive. He might be someone we need."
An ability user who drained power by covering themselves in the opponent's blood.
As the organization's leader, Aoja had recruited many warriors whose abilities had manifested bizarrely through Mana Materials, but this was an extremely rare power. Among his subordinates, there were warriors who absorbed Mana Materials by consuming the opponent's flesh, but if merely bathing in blood was enough, this was far more practical.
On this prison island, the ability to collect Mana Materials was the most precious thing of all. With that kind of power, it wasn't impossible to eliminate the small elite force of prison guards and escape the island.
"Yeah, got it. Come to think of it, we had someone under our umbrella who got thrown in here by Thousand Transformations, didn't we? Let's bring that person along."
Himuro licked her lips and strode out of the room with a swagger.
Well, how will this play out... And the fox faction's reaction was something to keep an eye on as well.
Currently, the fox camp's numbers were small. The Serpent would never take in people claiming to be the Mourning Specter, but if the Thousand Transformations who had shown up this time was the real deal, the foxes might move to recruit them.
They didn't seem interested in clashing with us, though...
The nation had gathered numerous criminal organizations on this prison island, seemingly with the intention of inciting conflict. But Aoja and his people weren't foolish enough to fall for such machinations. At the very least, they had enough sense to keep their heads down until they could leave the prison island.
In this day and age, there were countless opportunists out there trying to exploit the power granted by Mana Materials.
The criminals shipped in one after another—those the various nations could no longer handle.
The people of Zebuldia would sooner or later come to realize the magnitude of their mistake.
§ § § For Himuro Derira—the senior combatant of the Eight-Forked Serpent, ice mage, and bearer of the title "Absolute Ice"—the battle that had taken place on the day the organization crumbled had been the worst of all the countless battlefields she had experienced.
Being assigned as a guard for the meeting held once every ten years, where all eight top executives gathered together, was the highest honor a combatant of the organization could receive.
At that time, Himuro had been on top of the world. Right up until the moment the Mourning Specter charged in from outside the room.
She had let her guard down. The venue for the meeting hadn't been decided until the day itself, and it was a place where fighting was implicitly forbidden. Moreover, she had no coordination whatsoever with the guards assigned to the other executives.
She hadn't been able to perform at her best. If Himuro had gone all-out in such a cramped space, she would have frozen not only the protectee but the other executives' guards as well.
The Serpent was governed by the bosses of its eight predecessor organizations serving as top executives, and the relationships between them were far from good.
If she used large-scale magic and injured the other guards, it would cause a massive problem. It might even bring trouble upon her own master, Aoja. That hesitation—that weakness—had slowed Himuro's movements for just an instant.
No, it likely hadn't been just Himuro. The other executives' guards must have experienced the same hesitation.
And that had been a clear opening for the attackers—the Mourning Specter.
The Mourning Specter—Boundless Forms—had frozen the entire room in ice, including the comrades who had charged in ahead.
Magic was deeply influenced by the practitioner's mental state. Launched without the slightest concern for the survival of their attack targets or even the casualties among their own allies, that "White Embrace" had been more decisive and more perfect than any ice magic Himuro had ever faced.
In short, before magical ability even came into it, Himuro had been outclassed by more than a full circle in the mental domain by a young female mage.
This current order was a godsend for Himuro.
She had always wanted to get revenge on Boundless Forms. Not because of the stain on her life, but because, as a mage, she needed to fight with everything she had.
Unfortunately, the opponent this time wasn't Boundless Forms herself, but she wasn't available. If the person who had picked a fight with the Serpent really was Lucia Roje's brother—a Level 8 Thousand Transformations—then he would be a worthy target for retribution.
And if Lucia Roje came hunting for Himuro in revenge, that would be the best outcome of all. This time, she could finally prove her power head-on.