Published: July 4, 2025
"Marie... who is that?"
Abel seemed to genuinely not remember.
"Marie Cloche. You know, the phantom being who attacked the Imperial Palace during the wedding reception."
"Oh..."
It seemed Abel recalled upon hearing that.
"She was a fire attribute mage, right?"
"Yes. She certainly uses fire attribute magic, but..."
"She seems capable of close combat as well, huh?"
"Did you think so too, Abel?"
"Just a feeling. Ryo thought the same."
"Yeah, her footwork gave that impression."
"Footwork, I see."
Abel nodded repeatedly at Ryo's observation.
He knew that Ryo's observational skills were quite remarkable at times like this.
"She’s a pretty troublesome opponent, huh?"
"Indeed. Her magic is on par with Demon Leonor, and she’s also a phantom being capable of close combat. Abel, I'll handle Marie."
"Got it. That means I need to secure the emperor and protect him."
"Please do."
The two then descended the hill and arrived in front of the 'Summer Villa.'
"Water Jet 8!"
The gate of the villa was sliced open by a line of water.
The two charged in from the front.
"Marie Cloche! We’ve come to retrieve his majesty the emperor!"
Ryo's voice, trained by kendo, echoed loudly.
Of course, the phantoms surrounding them were on high alert...
"Icicle Lance Shower 'Fan'!"
Ice spears spread out like a fan, accurately piercing the throats of the 'vessels.'
At the moment they were pierced, all the 'vessels' vanished.
Seeing this, the other phantoms were left unable to act.
The men in robes and cloaks who had attacked were extraordinary beings, and even they, vastly superior to humans, understood in an instant that they couldn’t win.
Thus, they merely surrounded from a distance without engaging.
After a while, the front door opened, and a woman emerged.
Ryo recognized her — Marie Cloche.
"Oh, you finally came to rescue me. You took your time... Hmm? A robe? We’ve met somewhere, haven’t we?"
"You blocked my attack when you raided the Imperial Palace."
"Right, I remember! Dynamic Steam Mine, huh?"
"Um... yes, I did use that magic."
Marie Cloche nodded vigorously, and Ryo tilted his head in confusion.
He certainly cast the [Dynamic Steam Mine II] magic, but why did she remember that?
"Right, you came to rescue Emperor Darwei, didn't you? He's sleeping in that bedroom over there."
"Sleeping?"
"Yes, he just donated blood. I think it's better not to disturb him for a while."
"Donated blood?"
Ryo was surprised to hear a familiar term.
Oh, come to think of it, they did that in Twilight Land.
They had constructed a system for collecting the blood of humans needed by vampires...
Could it be that phantoms, like vampires, also require human blood?
"Do phantoms need human blood like vampires?"
Ryo decided to ask candidly.
"Huh? No, it's not like that. The blood of Emperor Darwei is needed because of the leader's orders. It seems it's necessary to open some 'corridor.' I don’t know much about it."
Marie shrugged.
From the way she said it, it didn't seem like she particularly liked the job.
"I can't go against the leader's orders. Oh, I've been managing Emperor Darwei’s health properly. The blood donations are spaced out, so it should be fine."
"Uh, yes..."
Ryo suddenly had a flash of insight.
For a moment, he thought it was unrelated, but perhaps it was the phrase 'I can't go against the leader's orders' that caught his attention.
"Could it be that leader is the Phantom King?"
Upon hearing Ryo's words, Marie’s eyes widened significantly.
Not metaphorically, but her eyes became rounder in surprise...
"How do you know that word?"
"Because he said it himself."
"Huh?"
"A phantom being I know was possessed by the Phantom King. We fought, and during that time, the Phantom King himself said it."
"That idiot leader... if that was the case, he should have told us! He absolutely wants to make himself look good, pushing the image that he never fails. That kind of facade falls apart quickly!"
Marie cursed at the Phantom King.
Ryo could only remain silent.
After a moment of cursing, Marie seemed to notice something and looked at Abel.