The Obscurer was an ancient technology and a treasure of the Republic. It

created a special type of magic that no other magic could see through—a complete

blindness spell. Even after the advent of new-age magic that introduced

space-time spells, current technology still couldn’t see past it.

Lorenzo was using a device of that power as he moved through the castle of the

Lord of Serenia. Already underground, his plan was simple: take the keys from

the guards, find a gap in their shift, and get his people out.

That plan was working perfectly so far.

He gestured for them to come closer. Just because it ’obscured’ them didn’t make

them immune to physical systems. That was why mechanical traps would still go

off, as would any magic that struck them. They were simply imperceptible.

The group of Torville mafiosi, ten of them with Lorenzo in the lead, started

moving out.

"Sir Consigliere," one of them whispered, hopping closer. "We should hit their

safe."

Lorenzo, who was already thinking the same, nodded.

The group took a small detour to make their way to the palace’s treasure room.

They walked openly, right next to the surrounding guards, yet none of them

noticed.

When they entered the treasure room, though, what greeted them instead of

valuable treasures and piles of gold was a simple card with a ’P’ written on it.

"Huh?!" Lorenzo gasped. He recognized this symbol clearly—a symbol, in fact,

that any person of the underworld worth their salt knew.

The symbol had forced its way into the underworld. It started as a myth—a legend

with no real basis. But when the legend grew too big, and people started

claiming that no such person existed and that it was all a scam, the ’legend’

could no longer find a challenge.

So, he had started leaving a call sign.

"Phantom...!"

The name the criminals themselves had given the legend.

"To think..." Lorenzo gulped. This meant that Phantom had recently struck the

Lord’s palace—perhaps within the last year. This was the first sign of Phantom’s

presence in two whole years.

People were starting to think he was dead!

This would make waves in the underworld; Lorenzo knew this was huge news. They

pocketed the card, along with some gold coins, and turned to leave.

They made their way out of the Lord’s castle and toward the Ring Road, keeping

the Obscurer active. The sun had set, and the city’s nightlife was taking over.

The tax office stood across from them.

Lorenzo had nothing to worry about now. Head east, and from there, make for the

Duke’s territory. It was simple.

As they neared the roundabout in front of the Guest House, Lorenzo stopped. A

small group was gathered around, all dressed in pure white—their clothes a mix

of priestly robes and knightly uniforms. They were garments that begged for an

insignia, yet bore none.

A man headed toward the Guest House’s entrance while Lorenzo and his gang slowly

moved to the side. Lorenzo’s eyes trailed after him; they had to quietly avoid

bumping into anyone in such a crowded place.

A man in full priestly robes went up to the entrance of the Guest House, his

aide right beside him. Lorenzo knew him—very well.

Bishop Reed, the very man dispatched to Serenia City, and the one who had

wrecked his brothers.

The mafiosi behind him were also brimming with rage, but he kept them silent and

still.

As they took their turn, Lorenzo looked back again. Reed had stopped, and a

magician now stood in front of him. The magician shook his head and gestured

frantically with his hands, waving them in a firm ’no’ and urging him to run,

his eyes trembling with fear.

"What do you want?" Reed asked aloud, while also signing back.

Was this their bad luck?

If they hadn’t decided to raid the treasury, they would have been a few minutes

too early to get caught up in this.

And if there had been more treasure left for them to steal, they would have been

a few minutes later—long enough to have escaped.

A black streak shot into the sky from the Guest House.

—BOOOM!

A giant explosion followed. The wall of one of the floors burst open. There,

with gray haze leaking from its mouth and horns growing haphazardly from its

face, was a Corrupted.

"GRRWAAAAA!!"

The Corrupted screamed. Its voice echoed down the entire road.

"W-what!" Reed yelled. "All of you, alert! It’s a Corduil Beast! A

Corrupted...!"

Its horns were numerous, and it was clearly incredibly strong. The corruption...

it had matured completely. Reed laughed and was about to charge, but the

magician blocked his path again.

"What do you want!? Coward! Clear my path!"

The magician shook his head, but the other members of the CEF were already

rushing past. They charged straight inside. It was all happening too fast.

"Run!" Lorenzo urged. This was their chance—they had to leave toward the east

right now—

—BOOM! —BOOM! —BOOM!

Three more explosions rang out. Giant gray rays shot into the ground, rotting

everything they touched. Three more blasts, followed by enormous shockwaves.

"D-don’t tell me...!" Lorenzo and the mafiosi froze. A chill down their spines

locked them in place.

Every hair on their bodies stood on end.

This...

Giant slabs of stone and concrete flew into the sky, most of them smashing

straight into the roundabout and the surrounding roads.

They had gnarly, rotting skin, some of it gray and some red. Horns emerged

indiscriminately from their necks, heads, chests, and hands. Black, tar-like

blood poured from their bodies.

"Guuuuh" "Huuucckkkkhhhh... Khukkkkkcccchhh!"

Three more Corrupted emerged from the Guest House. One of them leaped up and

smashed straight into the middle of the crowd of CEF soldiers.

"F-fuck!" "Don’t falter! [Sword Aura]!" "[EARTH COCOON]"

Magic flew. Soldiers engaged one Corrupted with their blades while wizards

formed a giant cocoon around another. But the beast broke through within

seconds, smashing the spell with its bare knuckles.

A giant slab of stone fell, hurtling straight toward Lorenzo.

If they had been a minute earlier,

or a minute later,

could they have avoided this?

The rock struck Lorenzo in the face, knocking him down as blood poured from his

head.

The Obscurer fell to the ground, rolling away.

Immediately, one of his men ran to help him while another retrieved the

Obscurer. Lorenzo quickly activated the device again as they scrambled to hide.

He turned back to look just once.

There was no mistaking it...

Bishop Reed was looking straight into his eyes.