3 bar menu

Chapter 61 Part 3 – The power of the God of Combat pierces through the darkness. And Alisa starts to move.

But, in the first place, what 「he」 is trying to do is not wrong.
Addis tried to kill me and if we let him off the hook here, he might attempt to kill me again.
There is no guarantee that we would be able to stop Addis without 「him」 if he went on a rampage again. Without 「him」, I would have been dead long ago. All of 「his」 ruthless decisions were made with me in mind.

And yet, I, the person 「he’s」 concerned about, is trying to say only the beautiful, merciful parts. It can’t be like that.

「…… I’m sorry. I said too much. I’ll leave the handling of Addis to you. But at the very least, please make it so that he’ll be able to go about his daily life without any hindrance.」

「There is no need for that. I will answer all your questions honestly on behalf of Addis. Resistance is futile in the face of the great warrior.」

Phantasma’s huge body suddenly emerged from the darkness of the night.
I nearly jumped up when he suddenly called out to us from behind.
Phantasma carried my mother and Seraphy on both shoulders and gently lowered them to the ground.
Then he sat cross-legged on the ground. It is a statement of will that he has no intention of running away.

「Both of them are just unconscious, not hurt. They will wake up soon. I only fired vibrational waves at the archer warrior for three times ……」

「…… You suppressed the power of the vibrational waves so that it would not be fatal. It’s certainly true that you don’t have any malicious intent toward us. All right then. There is a possibility that Addis might lie when he’s interrogated. I’ll hear it from you. Scarlet, are you okay with that?」

After touching mother’s and Seraphy’s bodies and checking their physical condition, 「he」 asked me.
I nodded in relief and turned to Phantasma.
Phantasma bowed deeply.

「…… Thank you for your generous treatment.」

Up close, even when he’s sitting down, he has the presence of a cluster of rocks.
But his gaze when he’s looking at me was calm and gentle.
It occurred to me that perhaps he sat down to be at the same eye level with me, a little girl, as much as possible.

I think it would be tiring just to talk with the crazy Addis.
If we are going to talk about the same topic, I would obviously prefer to talk with an intelligent person like him.
Besides, I have a strange affinity for giant types like Matzo and Ethelreed.

「…… Who are you guys, the Seven Phantoms? Why did you attack us?」

Thanks to 「him」 who has the strength at the realm of the gods, they were easily subdued, but both Addis and Phantasma are genuine monsters.
There is no one who can compete with them, not even among the knight’s order in the four great kingdoms.
So, no matter how I think about it, it is really strange that I have never heard of them before.

「…… Princess, what do you think when you see Addis’s appearance?」

Phantasma looked at the unconscious Addis and asked me calmly.

Looking at him again, Addis had an extremely atypical appearance with four stout arms sprouting from his back.
Those ugly and hairy arms do not even seem to be a human’s.
It looks more like the legs of a giant spider. On top of that, he even has a long tail.

The knives he had received earlier on his back were pushed out and fell with a thud.
There was only a small trickle of blood.
If a normal human had been hit by that, he would have died instantly, but Addis probably had fur under his clothes as well, so he did not suffer that much damage.
Phantasma smiled and said the words I hesitated to say.

「…… You are a kind child. It’s okay. To say it frankly, we look like monsters. But we are human beings. We, the Seven Phantoms …… are the failed work created by the four oldest families. The four families who are the masterminds of this kingdom’s history. That’s why it was possible to keep us hidden in the dark for so long.」

「The four oldest families …… you mean, that four oldest families of Hydrangea?」

Suddenly, an unexpected name popped up and made me blink in surprise.

I also know about those four families.
They are the nobles with the oldest lineage among the 「red nobles」, the former leaders of this kingdom.
However, their title is only that of a count, and they have no connection to the central authority and live poorly in their own fiefdom located in a remote area.

「…… When I was a quee …… Umm, mnnn …… The other day I happened to see them at the palace, but they were mostly ignored by the 「red nobles」 and were wandering around the corner of the room, looking out of place. You mean those four families, right?」

I met them numerous times during the previous 「108 times」 when I was a queen. They were mocked as incompetent nobles who were just of ancient blood. Those grandpas even struggled to get out of the palace. Moreover, they often get lost when looking for the restroom. There are no other nobles that are more unsuited for the title of 「mastermind」.

But Phantasma nodded gravely.

「…… You don’t think it’s possible, do you? But don’t be deceived. It’s easy for clever people to pretend they’re incompetent. Those guys think of the current Hydrangea royal family as nothing more than a puppet regime. They have no interest in this current kingdom. They would rather have a leisurely job where they can stay in their own territory, which is more convenient in many ways. They have only one objective. It is the revival of the『True Emperor』who once unified the continent.」

W-Wait a minute, stopp!? You just suddenly said a big amount of information!?
Let me get my head straight.
So the counts of the four oldest families were intentionally acting incompetent so that they can stay inside their own territory!?
In other words, for generations, they have been implementing the ‘become a shut-in plan’ I am trying to do!?

「…… What Phantasma is saying is true. The four oldest families are fanatics of the『True Emperor』. They are skillfully concealing it, but they have always been doing secret maneuvers behind the scenes of this kingdom’s history. Their longing is to once again unify the continent under the『True Emperor』who will one day return. By any means necessary.」

「He」 said.
I could tell by 「his」 expression and tone of voice that 「he」 did not have good feelings toward them.
I reflexively looked at the ruby hanging on top of my chest, but there was no response from it now that the Light Bat Tribe had been sealed.
Phantasma nodded again and continued to talk.

「…… However, the new『True Emperor』did not appear, no matter how long they waited. The ruby was also lost. The four families became exasperated and finally decided to reach their hands out to a taboo. The creation of life …… they tried to create the『True Emperor』with their own hands. Just as humans have created new breeds of dogs and new varieties of wheat through cross-breeding. The resulting failure from that are people like me and Addis.」

Then Phantasma glanced at me and the ruby and showed a bitter smile.

「That person is real only when she is born naturally and the ruby is also only attracted to the real thing. …… Created by human hands, we have acquired strength in exchange for our grotesque appearance. But in the end, we are merely a fake. As you saw earlier, Addis was also rejected by the ruby. I can’t ask you to understand us, but you are the successor to the『True Emperor』. We, the Seven Phantoms, have mixed feelings about you. Especially Addis, since he is the one that has the most grotesque appearance.」

The somber tone of his words made me reflexively look at the unconscious Addis.

Six arms that resemble a giant spider. A long tail like a monkey. Perhaps it might be because he is ashamed of his atypical appearance in his heart that he always wears a mask, dresses in formal attire, and hides the four arms on his back with the ‘Dark Illusion’.

「…… But how in the world can they change a human’s appearance so much ……」