"Why is it that towns always burn so easily?"
"Truly, I think their fire prevention measures are inadequate. But then again, fire prevention can stop accidental fires — arson is a different story..."
Citry said with a cheerful smile. Was I the only one who thought this wasn't exactly the expression she should be wearing right now?
The flames had been extinguished in an instant thanks to the rain clouds that had gathered so rapidly. Must have been Lucia's doing.
I didn't know how difficult it was to summon rain, but the repertoire of spells Lucia could use seemed to grow every time I looked.
As I rode the carriage at a leisurely pace toward the town where everyone had already gone ahead, a good idea suddenly struck me.
"If she can make it rain, couldn't she also stop a storm?"
I was finally graduating from being a rain-bringer. At my words, Citry — who had stayed behind solely to look after me — broke into a beaming smile and pressed her palms together.
"Wonderful! Time for training!"
...I decided not to say anything more about that.
Well, the fire seemed to be under control now. Anthem would probably handle the injured somehow. The problem was Luke and Riizu. I'd told them not to attack civilians, but there was no telling what they might do. However, if I didn't go inside, I wouldn't be able to stop them when the time came.
Before we entered, Citry spoke up. The symbol of the Mourning Specter was overlaid on her face.
"Krai, your mask..."
"Hmm... ah, right..."
Citry and the others probably wore theirs all the time, but I hadn't been wearing mine lately and had forgotten about it.
They really do block your vision... but if someone saw my face, it could lead to even bigger trouble.
Thinking back on it, making our symbol into a mask so we could hide our faces was a brilliant decision. If only they hadn't forgotten to cut eyeholes in them, it would have been perfect.
I let out a heavy sigh and rummaged through my belongings. Then my eyes went wide.
The symbol. I'd forgotten it. Great. I was technically the leader, after all.
All I had was a fox mask.
I sighed again, pulled out the fox mask that had somehow ended up in my bag, and put it on.
I turned to Citry and asked.
"How is it?"
"Wah! It's absolutely lovely! I think it looks great!"
Citry clapped her hands in delight while wearing her own mask, but her sweetness was going to be the death of me. Also, how could she see me like that in her current state? Wasn't that weird?
I'd brought the Evolving Demon Mask too, but that was definitely out of the question. It would just distort everything.
"Can you see in front of you with that fox mask?"
"Of course not. There are no eyeholes, are there?"
Was this becoming a trend? Citry reached out her hand. Presumably she meant to hold mine and guide me along.
But I had a trump card for exactly this kind of situation. I removed the mask temporarily and rummaged through my collection of Treasure Weapons.
What I pulled from my bag was — a pendant. A silver chain with a design modeled after a large eye.
This was the pendant-type Treasure Weapon known as "Third Vision."
By using this, I could perceive the visual field seen through the pendant's eye even with both of my own eyes covered! That's right — I no longer needed Citry or Lucia to hold my hand just to walk around while wearing a mask! (150 million Gill) I hung the pendant around my neck and donned the fox mask. Even though both my eyes should have been covered, I could somehow see what was in front of me. No matter how many times I used it, the feeling was strange, but it was infinitely better than not being able to see.
Don't think I never make any progress. As I turned around triumphantly, Citry whispered softly.
"You really didn't need to do all that..."
§ Since the town had been on fire, the entrances and exits were packed. But our Party was used to this sort of thing.
We used the authority of our high-Level certified Party to gain entry quickly. I left the carriage to Kirukilu and decided to walk with Citry. Masks tended to attract attention, so we chose the narrowest paths we could find.
"It seems like it's 'people' this time."
"People, huh..."
The fact that I still thought this was better than dealing with dragons or Phantoms was probably because I'd been through such terrible experiences not long ago.
Several carriages raced down the main street. I didn't know where Luke and the others were, but if we headed toward the commotion, we'd find them.
"Apparently, Thieves hiding among the travelers all rose up at once. There were quite a few of them, so it was an organized operation. But it seems they were a bit careless."
I had no idea from whose perspective Citry was speaking, but this town was much larger than that hot spring town. Whoever could attack a place like this might be even more formidable than that band of Thieves.
I was more or less in a "whatever, do as you please" kind of mood, but Citry apparently felt differently.
"There are plenty of Treasure Hunters here too, so it's not even worth discussing. If they had enough people to burn down a town, they could have found better ways to go about it. What a waste..."
"Yeah, yeah, you're right..."
But it didn't seem like it was going to be a major problem.
It was unfortunate for Luke and the others, but if Citry said it was handled, then it probably already was. Her predictions were almost never wrong.
We got rained on as we crept through the alleys looking for Riizu and the others. I just wanted to find an inn soon and get a good rest.
Just then, a mere few meters ahead — toward the main street — we heard a tremendous crashing sound.
I couldn't help but flinch. Citry, who had been walking ahead, froze in place.
A roar like a clap of thunder boomed across the sky.
"You lot dare gang up on me one by one, you cowards?! Could any of you stop Hanneman the 'Shattered Arm'?!"
Whoa.
The ground trembled, and a sound so loud it hurt our ears reverberated throughout the area.
The cobblestones of the main street shattered violently and peeled upward. In the center of it all stood a massive man, roughly sixty percent of Anthem's size.
In his hands he gripped an enormous iron rod. It was about as thick as my arm and nearly two meters long — it was more of a pillar than a rod, really.
He swung it around as if it were a twig, though with my natural strength I probably couldn't even lift it.
With every swing, the Hunters and guards who charged at him went flying. Citry spoke in a calm voice.
"'Shattered Arm'... self-proclaimed, of course. Nobody's ever actually been given that title."
"Like how Luke used to call himself the 'Absolute Divine Sword'?"
"Luke still does, actually..."
But self-proclaimed title or not, the man was quite formidable. Superhuman strength alone made him untouchable.
I wondered what was bothering him. The self-proclaimed "Shattered Arm" stood in place, swinging his iron pillar and destroying buildings.
He was supposed to have been running, so why did he stop right in front of us? Seriously?
He hadn't spotted us yet, but it was only a matter of time. And based on experience, if we were found, we'd definitely be in for a terrible time.
After all, we were... wearing masks, which made us look suspicious. For as long as I could remember, we'd been attacked countless times because of this symbol.
Who was it that decided such a creepy mask should be our symbol?
Citry, who was one of the few reasons I was still keeping my cool, asked.
"What should we do?"
"Yeah, what should we do..."
"Come on, come on, come on! Bring it on!"
The self-proclaimed "Shattered Arm" shouted. Despite being surrounded, there was not a trace of fear in his voice.
If this man had been let into the town under the mistaken belief he was a traveler, wouldn't the town's guards bear some responsibility for that?
The guards apparently decided that challenging his rampage head-on was a poor strategy, as they slowly closed in around the self-proclaimed "Shattered Arm." Why were they surrounding him right in front of us? And what about the self-proclaimed "Absolute Divine Sword"?
The instant those thoughts crossed my mind, the man was suddenly engulfed in a blinding light.
His massive body was sent flying, pillar and all, and the self-proclaimed "Shattered Arm" was slammed into the ground just a few meters from the alley where we were peeking out.
The guards' faces twisted in shock. Citry said nothing.
Could it be Lucia? Just as I harbored that faint hope, I suddenly heard the sound of quiet footsteps.
Amid the pouring rain and poor visibility, the one who appeared was not Lucia. At the sight of him, I couldn't help but gasp and widen my eyes.
The man wore a black cloak. In his hand, he held a magnificent staff. And above all, the man had — hidden his face behind a mask.
"A mask...?"
It was a skull mask. It bore some resemblance to the symbol of the Mourning Specter, but the impression was entirely different — probably because the other guy had better design sense. "Third Vision" apparently had better eyesight than I did, because I could clearly see that the other mask had properly cut eyeholes. I was honestly quite jealous.
The man struck his staff forcefully against the ground, then spoke in a voice that carried clearly even through the rain.
"'Shattered Arm'... is that all you've got? You won't be hearing this again, but — remember it well. My name is Krahi Andrih! Leader of the 'Mourning Evil Spirit,' Krahi Andrih of the 'Thousand Heavens Ten Thousand Flowers'!"
Everyone was overwhelmed by his presence. The power to fell a giant in a single blow. A charisma that radiated from his dignified bearing.
"Could it be... that's... the rumored leader of the Mourning Specters?" "The man who always hides in the shadows and rarely shows his face — the strongest in the Imperial Capital." "Why would he be in a place like this — is it really him?!" "They said the 'Thousand Swords' showed up over there."
The guards were buzzing. I was caught up in the atmosphere too and swallowed hard.
"That's the real 'Thousand Heavens Ten Thousand Flowers'?! Now that's a cool-looking mask."
And then, leaving us in our excitement behind, Citry spoke in her usual calm voice.
"'Thousand Heavens Ten Thousand Flowers'... there's no one with that title. Self-proclaimed, of course."