Celestan smiled faintly, remaining silent.
Seeing his demeanor, Rei turned his gaze to Elena. The look in his eyes said: I asked what I wanted to ask, but what about you?
From Rei's perspective, it was obvious that Celestan was targeting him as Black Wolf's enemy. The circumstances behind that—what kind of relationship existed between a man who led an organization and a mere skilled assassin—was something Rei found deeply interesting. Particularly since Black Wolf, like Rei, was from Japan.
Whether Celestan knew of those circumstances or not, Rei would have liked to ask. But judging from their earlier exchange, he hardly thought Celestan would answer honestly.
That was why Rei intended to yield the floor to Elena.
However, Elena silently shook her head at his look. She likely thought that attempting to get any answers here would—no, would undoubtedly just be deflected.
If Celestan were willing to properly answer their questions, there were any number of things they would have liked to ask.
"Oh, you have no more questions? I would have preferred to talk a bit longer, if possible," Celestan murmured with apparent regret, and from those words Rei understood why Celestan had been responding to him all along.
"Stalling for time, huh?"
"Yes, exactly."
The moment he said that, Rei sensed an unfathomable intensity from Celestan, who until now had worn a gentle expression. It was enough to make him think that everything Celestan had done up to this point was merely wearing a mask.
"Unfortunately for us, this seal has not yet been broken. Honestly, by our calculations, the seal should have been released a bit sooner. But perhaps the Seisole Marquis House blood that the man named Gaiska—our sacrifice—possesses is not so dense after all. Well, even if he is a direct descendant, he is not the legitimate heir, so that may be related."
The way Celestan looked at the cocoon of flesh was closer to how one might regard some sort of material rather than a human being.
"But, well... looking at it like this, it seems the seal will break shortly. I think it's safe to say the stalling was a success."
The seal would be broken. As if proving those words, the blood vessel-like things that appeared to be coiled around the cocoon of flesh were pulsing more strongly. Even compared to when Rei and Elena had first entered this space, the pulsing was clearly stronger.
It was undoubtedly growing stronger, but...
"I see. You were stalling for time to wait for the seal to break. But doesn't that conversely mean the seal hasn't broken yet? Facing me and Elena here, aren't you being too careless?"
That was what Rei told him. What kind of existence was sealed within the cocoon of flesh, Rei did not know. But given that someone had gone to the trouble of sealing it, it was undoubtedly powerful.
However, no matter how powerful an existence might be, while it was sealed, it could not exert its true strength. In other words, for Celestan to protect the cocoon of flesh in this situation, Celestan, the Butler, and Deotres—the three of them alone—would need to face Rei and Elena, two Alias Holders.
Objectively speaking, it was simply impossible. That much was certain.
And yet, even hearing Rei's words, Celestan showed no sign of agitation. He was even smiling.
Rei found Celestan's demeanor curious, but even from his perspective, Celestan did not appear to be particularly strong. He seemed to have trained his body more than an ordinary person, but ultimately, that was about the extent of it. Deotres possessed moderate strength, and the Butler surpassed even Deotres in terms of agility.
But even if the Butler was the strongest among the three, that was only relative to Deotres and the others. That level of strength was, for Rei and Elena, equivalent to a margin of error.
Could they be hiding their true power? No, but... looking at them like this, I really can't imagine so.
At the very least, from Rei's perspective, the three of them—Celestan included—did not seem to be concealing their abilities. If so, the fact that they showed no sign of unease even in such a situation meant it was either a bluff, or they had some kind of trump card.
And given that Celestan led the largest organization in the Underground World of Anesis, the second-largest city in the Kingdom of Mireana, the former possibility was exceedingly slim. That was Rei's assessment.
Still...
In front of Celestan and the others, Rei tried to withdraw Death Scythe from his Misty Ring...
"Huh?"
The Death Scythe and Twilight Spear that he should have been able to withdraw from the Misty Ring on his right wrist at any time—no, every single item stored within the Misty Ring—he could not take out any of them.
"Oh my, what's wrong? Are you not going to take out that great scythe, the very symbol of the Crimson alias? Or rather... can you not take it out?"
A smile floated on Celestan's face as he said that. He probably understood what was happening to Rei.
Rei was strong, but there were multiple reasons for that strength. One of those reasons was the Misty Ring. Capable of storing any object and easily retrieving it as well, it was a genuine Item Box, something almost never confirmed even in this world.
But if the Misty Ring—the source of Rei's strength—was sealed, moreover in a situation where he did not even have a weapon in hand yet, what would happen? That alone did not mean the combat power of Rei, Bearer of the Crimson Moniker, was completely neutralized. But the absence of Death Scythe—which served as a Catalyst for magic and through which he had acquired the Beast Magic skill—was undeniably a significant loss of combat power.
However, even understanding that his combat power had dropped dramatically, Rei's agitation was quelled in an instant. Losing access to Death Scythe, the Twilight Spear, the disposable spears he used, and various other weapons and Magic Items was painful. Even so, he had enough confidence to win even if he fought all three of them at once, and Elena was with him on top of that. Because of that, the thought of losing this battle was simply not possible.
Having my Misty Ring sealed is painful, but... they said the spatial anomaly since the hidden passage was caused by that cocoon of flesh. Which means whatever sealed my Misty Ring is probably that cocoon of flesh too. If that's the case, if I can do something about that cocoon...
The seal on the Misty Ring should be lifted. Rei understood this, albeit half-intuitively. He had no concrete proof, but the reason he was half-certain of it was likely because he could feel power emanating from the pulsing cocoon of flesh.
"The Misty Ring... having my Item Box sealed took me by surprise. But what will you do from there? I can't use my weapons, but that doesn't mean I can't fight without them. And besides..."
Elena, receiving a glance from Rei who stopped speaking there, drew Mirage from the sheath at her waist.
As a Whip-sword, Mirage possessed two forms—a whip and a longsword—and it was also Elena's symbol. It was a special weapon with a difficulty of handling different from Rei's Death Scythe, but Elena wielded that Mirage to perfection.
Incidentally, there were many who, hearing only rumors, admired Rei and tried to use a great scythe like Death Scythe. But regarding Elena's Whip-sword, there were not zero such people, but truly very few.
Thinking about it, it was only natural. A great scythe, if one set out to make one, was not that difficult to craft. In terms of construction, it could even be called simple. But a Whip-sword that had two forms—a longsword and a whip—was, while a longsword might be manageable, extremely complex in construction when in whip form. Given that, even making one as a test was difficult. Rather, the Blacksmiths capable of crafting one were overwhelmingly few. Or it would end up as junk that could barely be used even if forcibly made.
At any rate, given the characteristics of the weapons they wielded, there were almost no people who thought, "I'll use the same weapon as Elena!" The word "almost" meant that even in such circumstances, there were those who somehow tried to use a Whip-sword.
"That you sealed Rei's weapon is genuinely surprising. I'll give you that. But given that you could not seal my weapon, I believe you understand what Rei is trying to say?"
Indeed, even Elena alone would not have much difficulty defeating the three people near the cocoon of flesh. The other side surely understood that as well, and yet they showed no sign of frustration or regret.
At Elena's words, Celestan even smiled as he opened his mouth.
"You're right. As things stand, you would win. But there is no need for us to win. All we need is to stall for time until the seal breaks. ...Deotres, let's have you fulfill the contract."
"I know."
Where had his earlier manic laughter gone? Deotres stepped forward wearing a serious expression. And it was not only Deotres who stepped forward. The Old Man who served as Butler also stepped forward to line up beside Deotres.
What the two of them were thinking was obvious from the fact that they stood blocking the path before Rei and Elena. It was a resolution to stall for time until the seal broke.
"Do you really think you can hold me and Elena back?"
Saying that, Rei thought of the weapon equipped on the belt at his waist, hidden beneath the Dragon Robe. The Eye of Nebula, a Magic Item that, by flowing magical power through it, could create arrowheads for ten to several dozen seconds at a time.
Since Rei fundamentally preferred long-handled weapons, whether Death Scythe or Twilight Spear, he normally kept those weapons stored inside the Misty Ring. That was why the only weapon Rei could currently use was the Eye of Nebula on his belt.
It was a weapon that merely threw arrowheads, so it did not have much destructive power and was fundamentally only a suppressive weapon. But even with such a weapon, if Rei threw projectiles using his superhuman physical abilities, it would not quite reach a one-hit kill, but it would still certainly become a considerably vicious strike.
"Hoh-hoh-hoh. If my master tells me to do it, given my position, I must comply. Furthermore... I would advise against underestimating us."
The Butler said this with a smile floating on his face. That demeanor of having some composure suggested he had some kind of hidden trump card. Deotres, for his part, held a longsword in hand and faced Rei and Elena as though all expression had vanished from his face.
"Now then, shall we begin?"
The one who said that was not Rei, Elena, Deotres, or the Butler, but Celestan. Before anyone realized, Celestan had quietly reached his hand toward the cocoon of flesh nearby.
And then, in the next moment, from the cocoon of flesh, two blood vessels that had been writhing were released like whips.
The moment they saw that, Rei and Elena suspected it might be an attack aimed at them, but the blood vessels extending from the cocoon of flesh headed toward...
'Guh!'
A groan-like sound leaked from the mouths of the Butler and Deotres. A red blood vessel pierced the Butler, and a blue blood vessel pierced Deotres. The blood vessels, which had stabbed into the backs of their necks, pulsed even more intensely than before.
Rei and Elena were momentarily startled by the sight, but in the next instant, Rei surged forward. Following Rei, Elena too stepped forward with Mirage in hand.
Piercing blood vessels into allies might, at first glance, look like nothing other than attacking one's own side. But Rei could not imagine Celestan doing such a thing in the current situation, which meant this act was not an attack on allies but rather must have signified some other reason.
In other words, a reinforcement of their combat power.
Precisely because Rei had read various manga and novels in Japan, he was able to read ahead of that action.
Closing the distance, Rei activated the Eye of Nebula and, with the intent of suppression, hurled arrowhead after arrowhead. The arrowheads released with nothing more than finger movements pierced into Deotres's and the Butler's bodies one after another, and the curtain was raised on what would be the final battle to take place in Anesis.