CHAPTER 134

[Red Phantom.]

Elric raised an eyebrow.

[That's the first I've heard of them.]

[Of course, you haven't. They've only recently been established.]

[Then how do you know about them?]

[Because their leader and the leader of my mercenary group are sworn enemies.]

[Hmm.]

Elric didn't know much about the mercenary group "Black Skull" that his older sister belonged to. He didn't want to ask too many questions about her hardships, and she never spoke much about it. However, he knew Black Skull was not to be taken lightly.

'There are even rumors that they have ties to the Gray Lion.'

If Red Phantom was a rival to such a powerful mercenary group, they certainly wouldn't reveal any information willingly.

'In that case…'

Elric decided to change his approach.

He would let a few of them go.

But with a twist.

'Mirage eyes!'

Elric activated a new spell he had learned from Gility. In an instant, a swarm of familiars—disguised as flies—latched onto the remaining hidden assassins.

[Retreat!]

Sensing they could no longer complete their mission, the assassins began to retreat. Elric's familiars followed closely.

'You may come and go as you please, but leaving is another story.'

Elric smirked coldly, preparing to pursue the fleeing assassins. But then…

[This is bad. If I leave things like this, our organization's very foundation might be uprooted.]

…!

Elric canceled the acceleration spell he had just cast on himself and jerked his head up, his preta sense screaming a warning.

Standing on the collapsed ceiling structure, a man in a wooden mask appeared.

Was that even a person?

His eyes, barely visible through the mask, were completely devoid of emotion.

But what truly stunned Elric was:

'No flow!'

An absence of flow.

Every living being has a natural flow of energy—imperfections, vulnerabilities, something to trace. Even the elite "no-class" assassins had minor imperfections in their energy flow, which allowed Elric to locate them easily. But this man had none.

He seemed flawless.

Kikikikik!

Amusing, isn't it? 

Yu's spiritual form echoed its sardonic laughter, clearly intrigued by the mysterious figure.

Tasty. 

That was Yu's first assessment of the masked man.

[Looks like you've brought something interesting, but I've got a lot at stake here.]

The man didn't speak with his voice but created strange sound waves through magic to convey his intentions. Then, with a single sweep of his sword, he destroyed all of Elric's familiars.

During the entire exchange, Elric never took his eyes off the man, ignoring the stinging sensation in them.

He needed to see how this man would act to determine his next move.

With a final slash, the last of the familiars was eliminated.

"Who are you? Who sent you to kill me?" Cromhel growled, glaring at the masked man.

The retreating assassins were already being chased by the border guards. But if they didn't capture this masked man, they'd never know who was behind this attack.

[Surely, you don't expect him to tell you, Your Highness.]

"Yeah, I figured he wouldn't. But that makes this more interesting."

Zzzzeeeng!

Cromhel's sword let out a fierce howl, vibrating with such intense energy that it was on the verge of overloading.

With a swift leap, Cromhel launched himself at the masked man. Herman followed right behind, both moving in perfect sync, ready to strike together.

[Ah, two lions coming at me at once? This doesn't look good.]

The man muttered in a faux tone of concern, though his voice carried no trace of fear.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

He blocked the simultaneous attack of the two lions, even showing off his incredible sword skills as he did so.

This level of swordsmanship was beyond that of an ordinary assassin.

He was clearly a Superior—someone with the strength of 5th-chain or more.

Boom!

Their clashing auras exploded, causing the entire meeting room to collapse in on itself, filling the air with thick clouds of dust.

[That was enough of a performance, I think. Time to take my leave.]

Standing atop the cloud of debris, the masked man calmly bowed toward Cromhel as if offering a polite farewell.

Most of his forces had already retreated, and the mission to assassinate the Fourth Prince would need more planning. He decided to disappear into the shadows, but—

"[Surge], [Scatter]."

Elric moved swiftly.

Whoosh!

A blizzard whipped through the meeting room, tearing apart the dust clouds and leaving nowhere for the masked man to hide.

[…Damn!]

For the first time, the masked man sounded truly unsettled.

But it didn't matter.

Elric was already in front of him, his magic reaching its peak. He activated the Seal of Winter, and the power of the Seal of Maleficence magnified its effect even further.

Body Strengthening Art.

Advanced Form 3.

Thousand Tiger Shred—Circle.

Wham! Wham! Wham!

Each blow from Elric tore through the air like a cyclone, splitting the atmosphere and sending icy blades in every direction. The ground froze, and shards of ice flew up, slicing through the room.

The masked man instantly realized that even a glancing hit from Elric's attacks would be devastating.

Being exposed to Elric's "Ice Poison" would only make things worse.

Despite his efforts to push Elric back, the magician clung to him like a relentless shadow.

To make matters worse, each time the man tried to escape, the airflow dragged him back into Elric's ice chain and arrow barrage, making it difficult to regain any ground.

As if that weren't enough—

Whoosh!

A massive hammer, as thick as a person's head, came hurtling toward him with terrifying force.

[The only female member of Black Skull and the head of the Melvinger family? This wasn't in the plan… things are getting complicated.]

Elric and Heize worked together seamlessly, their attacks complementing each other so perfectly it was hard not to admire their precision.

Add Cromhel and Herman into the mix, and even the masked man found it increasingly difficult to hold his ground.

Finally—

[…Looks like I have no choice.]

The man sighed lightly, and in that instant, his eyes behind the mask gleamed with a sharp light.

He reached for the sword strapped to his back with his left hand.

Clang!

The ear splitting sound of metal rang out, repelling all the attacks aimed at him in one swift motion.

Dual-Sword. But should it be called dual-wielding?

In his right hand was a rapier, a typical assassin's weapon—light and thin. But in his left, he wielded a scimitar with a curved blade.

Elric, who had received many lessons from the Blue Hawks on various weapons, recognized this as a unique, bizarre style.

And everyone present understood one thing:

The atmosphere surrounding the masked man had shifted entirely.

Before, he had been like a gentle breeze, but now he was like a void—an absolute stillness, a ghostly presence with no discernible trace.

"Fall back!"

Herman was the first to notice the change and shouted a warning.

[It's not going to work.]

The masked man moved before Herman's words even finished echoing through the room.

Whoosh!

His presence vanished completely.

There were no places left to hide, and yet it was as if he had become invisible.

'Where is he?'

Elric opened his Mind's Eye wide, desperately trying to find the masked man, but no trace of him remained.

It was as if the man had disappeared into thin air.

Then Elric heard a voice in his head—a mocking one.

Is that really the best you can do?

Yu's shadow taunted him, and at that moment, Elric's instincts screamed in alarm.

Something was coming for him!

Elric immediately threw himself backward, conjuring a thick shadow wall in defense.

Boom!

An attack, silent and swift, smashed through the shadow wall and grazed Elric's left shoulder.

His clothes tore, and blood spattered. Through the pain, he saw the masked man half-submerged in the air, his eyes wide with surprise.

[You dodged? Impressive.]

The man's voice was filled with amusement, like an older brother complimenting a younger sibling.

But the fight was far from over.

Slash! Slash!

The masked man continued to unleash a barrage of strikes, and Elric found himself barely able to dodge them. 

He rolled across the floor, unable to even activate his magic or Body Strengthening Art. Each blow required so much focus to avoid that he couldn't afford any distractions.

[The head of the Melvinger family… I'll remember you. I'm curious how you managed to read my steps. Perhaps you're the reason this assassination failed.]

By the time Elric lifted his head again, the masked man had already moved on to other targets.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Splat!

"Aaagh!"

"Cairne! How did he…?!"

"Where is he?! Where is this bastard?!"

Fighting an invisible ghost was impossible. Even Cromhel's imperial guards and the elite soldiers of the border guard could do nothing as they were picked off one by one.

"Protect the prince!"

"Border guards, close the perimeter! Narrow the area!"

Desperate to protect Cromhel, the soldiers retreated to guard him, forming a shield around the Fourth Prince.

Cromhel was too valuable to lose. His political weight was immense—not just as a member of the imperial family but as the most prominent opposition to the Crown Prince, with a vast amount of public support behind him.

Yet the masked man's relentless assault made it impossible to mount any effective defense.

'We need a plan!'

Elric clenched his teeth, knowing that they were in serious trouble.

He glanced at his sister, hoping she might have an idea. But Heize, too, was biting her lip, clearly frustrated by the situation.

'How do you fight an invisible ghost…? A ghost…'

『It looks like you've met a tough guy.』

At that moment, as if hearing Elric's thoughts, Mephisto's laughter echoed in his mind.

As he heard it, an idea flashed in Elric's head.

"[Swirl!]"

Just like that, a cold wind filled the room. The very technique he had used to track his companions in the deadly blizzards of the Black Snowfield—footprints in the snow.

Whoosh!

The air inside the meeting hall turned icy, and frost began to spread across the ground, snow piling up everywhere.

Before anyone could wonder why Elric had cast such a large-scale spell, they spotted something—a faint footprint appearing in front of Cromhel.

[T/L: You can read ahead chapters and support me here: https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]