Chapter 14: The Phantom Takes the Stage

Chapter 14:
The Phantom Takes the Stage

 

THE PHANTOM TAUNTED US from somewhere up above. Emma and I both had Night Vision, so we looked around for him until we spotted someone on the chandelier, face concealed with a half mask.

“No need to fear!” said the Phantom. “So long as you don’t get in my way, that is. Let’s all cooperate and it’ll be like nothing ever happened—especially you, Earl Bourne.”

“Phantom!” cried the earl. “You dirty thief! I won’t let you make a fool of me. You’ll never get your hands on the Mermaid’s Tear!”

It was impressively ferocious, but unfortunately he was shouting in completely the wrong direction.

He’s on the other side of the room!

The Phantom stifled a laugh. I hadn’t expected him to be so jovial. I tried using my Discerning Eye on him, but he was too far away.

“Members of Lahmu, where are you?!”

“Right here, Earl Bourne.”

“R-right,” said the earl. “Hurry up and capture him!”

“All right everyone,” said the group’s leader. “Don’t make any careless moves.”

Four adventurers, including Leila, took up position under the chandelier. It was impressive, really. None of them had Night Vision, as far as I could tell. They were using their other senses to locate him. Even more surprisingly, they were all over Level 100. The elite of the elite. Their leader readied his broadsword.

“I’m sorry,” he told the earl calmly. “But we may have to destroy some of your property.”

“I don’t care,” shouted the earl. “Just catch him!”

He’d barely finished speaking before Lahmu’s leader leapt up onto the chandelier with incredible force.

“Oho, what have we he—?!”

The Phantom didn’t get the chance to finish before the adventurer mowed him down. I guess that’s how top-class adventurers operate. His swordsmanship was impressive, but what struck me more was his utter lack of hesitation. Most people balked before striking to kill another human being.

But things took an unexpected turn. The Phantom laughed, his voice echoing through the dark hall. Then, just before the blade hit him, he vanished.

“He’s…gone?”

“Below you!”

“What?!”

I don’t know how he did it, but the Phantom was under the chandelier now. He stood in the middle of the remaining three adventurers.

“Get him!” shouted their leader.

Leila and the others attacked at once with fists, battle axe, and hammer. Phantom or not, a direct hit from any of those would probably be fatal, but the Phantom used that teleporting trick again and again to get himself out of the way.

“It’s like hitting air…” Leila complained.

“Yeah, same here.”

Perhaps he wasn’t even real. Could he have some kind of skill that allowed him to create illusions of himself?

“Emma, stay close,” I warned. “He’s after more than just the Mermaid’s Tear.”

“Y-yeah, I know. I’ll hold on.”

I pried Emma’s hand from my jacket and gripped it in my own. After all, hadn’t someone said the Phantom was two people? There was no guarantee that someone else wasn’t lurking in the shadows.

“My dear adventurers,” said the Phantom. “I believe you have made a critical misstep. You have left the Mermaid’s Tear unguarded.”

He was standing by the old grandfather clock, where the adventurers had been stationed during the party.

“Dammit. How did he know?”

Leila and her leader lunged for him, but the Phantom gave no indication of trying to escape.

I was only distracted for a moment, but it was long enough. I felt Emma’s hand slip out of mine.

I whipped around. Emma looked like she was about to faint. One of the other noblewomen from the party was beside her—a beautiful woman, perhaps in her late twenties.

“Sorry,” she said. “But she’s mine now.”

“Over my dead body!”

I grabbed hold of Emma’s dress, but the woman planted a surprisingly hard kick on my shin and tore Emma away from me. She threw her over her shoulder and darted toward the exit, dodging through the crowd. Did she really think I’d let her get away?

I gave chase. Behind me, the adventurers’ leader was shouting.

“Leila, Amurru, go after her! You’re dead meat if she gets away!”

“Why do you always have to be so violent?” Leila complained. She gave chase and quickly caught up with me. “Let’s get ’em, Noir.”

“You got it.”

“Who’s this, Leila?” asked the other adventurer.

“My friend, Noir. Noir, this is Amurru.”

We didn’t really have time for introductions. Amurru was muscular, and at a level equivalent to the rest of his high-powered squad from what I’d seen earlier. That’s all I needed to know.

“Don’t mean to be rude,” he told me. “But I’m gonna go on ahead.”

I was sprinting as fast as I could, but Amurru had another gear—but then, the second Phantom was faster than me, too. A gap quickly opened between us. Leila seemed able to move just as fast.

“Don’t worry about me,” I told her. “Go on.”

“I won’t let them get away,” Leila said.

She and Amurru sped after the noblewoman at inhuman speed. At this rate, I would never catch up. What could I do? There was always Get Creative, but tonight, I had a better idea. I whipped out the Gale Potion from my Pocket Dimension and quickly downed the red liquid. It was bitter as hell, but it gave me Swift Foot, so I couldn’t complain. The effect would last for sixty minutes. That would have to be enough. It had to be. I was already moving faster.

“Noir, where did you hide this ability?” Leila said as I caught up with her.

Amurru raised a quizzical eyebrow. “I’m impressed, but things are about to get harder.”

We sprinted down a street lined with expensive houses. The noblewoman scaled the stone wall ahead of us, then hopped up onto a roof.

“Come on!” Amurru shouted.

He flew up the wall after her and leapt up onto the roof. I could manage the wall, but the jump onto the roof was too much.

“You can hang on to me,” said Leila. “I’ll get you up there.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.”

She scooped me up in her arms and hopped easily across.

“Thank you,” I said. “I mean, it’s kinda wounded my masculine pride, but thank you.”

“Heh, don’t worry your pretty little head about it,” said Leila. “You’ll get to show off, soon.”

She winked, and I shot a smile back at her.

“I’ll get Emma back,” I said. “No matter what.”

“That’s the spirit.”

We sprinted along the roof, then skidded to a halt behind Amurru. The noblewoman was standing right in front of him. Had she always planned on luring us up here?

There was nothing for it now. I braced myself for what was coming.