Chapter 301: Crown of the Mundane and Divine: Mundane Troubles 『 Part Five 』
〜Shingeki No Kyojin World〜
The setting sun painted the Wall Maria in a layer of crimson, while the treetops of the forest swayed gently in the evening breeze.
Reiner lay supine on a thick branch, hands clasped behind his head, gazing at the screen in the sky through the gaps in the foliage.
"Duke Inferno…"
Reiner clicked his tongue, suddenly speaking up.
"Since this guy is so tough, when the Stellaron Hunters went to wipe out the Jepella Brotherhood, why didn't they just take out this fire demon while they were at it? With Sam and Blade's strength, it shouldn't have been difficult, right?"
From a higher branch came Annie's icy voice:
"Do you assume the Stellaron Hunters could definitely defeat Duke Inferno? What if they couldn't?"
"How is that possible?"
Reiner narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Have you forgotten how Kafka toyed with those animal-headed guys from the Jepella Brotherhood?"
"The fact that the Jepella Brotherhood could stand as equals with the Ever-Flame Mansion within the Annihilation Gang suggests that their strength and influence were roughly comparable. Yet, if one could be casually extinguished by the Stellaron Hunters, how much resistance could the other really put up?"
Annie nodded slightly, thinking it over carefully, that logic did seem to hold water. Kafka had entered the game as prey and concluded it by toying with them. From beginning to end, the Jepella Brotherhood hadn't managed a single moment of effective resistance.
Being able to go toe-to-toe with that lot indirectly exposed the true level of the Ever-Flame Mansion's strength.
Nearby, Bertholdt hesitated before speaking:
"Is it possible that the Stellaron Hunters and Duke Inferno did clash? But he escaped? After all, with the ability to phase-shift, killing him completely wouldn't be that easy…"
"Do you think Kafka and Blade would make that kind of mistake? If the Stellaron Hunters decided to kill Duke Inferno, they would never have allowed him to use his abilities to flee."
Annie leaned against the adjacent trunk, her fingertips playing with a leaf.
"I can only judge it this way: perhaps in Elio's eyes… it simply wasn't Duke Inferno's time to die yet. He is more useful alive than dead."
—
「 The two returned to the Seclusion Zone, recounting every scrap of information they had gathered to Asta and Screwllum.
Among the data, one clue was particularly critical: the pamphlet's record of a flame capable of traversing phases, said to be able to [burn through worlds, leaving behind numerous descendants of fire.]
Screwllum guessed it immediately: "It is the [Phase Flame], a creation of # 29 Sserkal. She was a remarkable genius—intelligent, kind, and humble."
"Regrettably, defined by human concepts of time, she lived for a mere twenty-nine days. The Phase Flame shifted to another phase the moment it was born; by the time it returned, Sserkal had already passed away from old age. Since then, it has continuously shifted phases, becoming nearly impossible to capture."
"Someone once caught a glimpse of the Phase Flame's trail and captured a cluster of its sub-flames. Herta accepted it and lent it to Ruan Mei for research, but unexpectedly, the flame's seed was lost in the process. If Ifrit is indeed a descendant of the Phase Flame, the full picture becomes clear."
Dr. Ratio spoke coldly: "As its descendant, Duke Inferno possesses abilities similar to the Phase Flame. I suspect he cannot achieve true [Phase Shifting], but he can execute a degraded form of [Spatial Transfer]. This is the truth behind the spontaneous human combustion: the researchers did not vanish; they were [transferred]."
Although the whereabouts of the victims remain unknown for now, the Duke's plan is already evident. He intends to use these disappearances to create chaos, then secretly push the crisis to the forefront, waiting for it to take root and sprout.
"And the next step, snap—is to ignite the spark. Look at these missing researchers. Suppose their commonality is discovered; what will be the consequence? I need not elaborate." 」
「 ..... 」
〜Bleach World〜
Kuchiki Byakuya stood atop an upturned eave within the Seireitei, his gimpaku kazahana no uzuginu scarf floating gently in the night wind. He listened quietly to Dr. Ratio's conclusion, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly.
"…Dull."
Hitsugaya Toshiro paced over from behind, the hilt of Hyorinmaru gleaming cold in the moonlight.
"What? Disappointed?"
"No wonder Duke Inferno will not receive the gaze of 『Destruction』… Destruction should be about facing the end of all things directly."
Byakuya shook his head with a look of disdain.
"Yet now, he hides his head and shows his tail, using flames to transfer ordinary people. In my view, this act is undoubtedly scratching the itch from outside the boot—far removed from true 『Destruction』. Apart from annoying a few Geniuses and Stelle, does it hold any other significance?"
"But didn't Phantylia operate the same way?"
Toshiro chuckled lightly.
"Fanning the flames of chaos in the shadows, ultimately bringing about destruction… perhaps Duke Inferno's teacher was Phantylia."
"But Phantylia's target was an Xianzhou ship, an Arbiter-General of The Hunt… what was to be destroyed was a civilization,"
Byakuya said coldly, crossing his arms.
"However, since the matter has been exposed, he should, like Phantylia, show himself and fight."
"Heh, how is that possible? The Space Station has the Genius Screwllum presiding over it. Who knows what methods the robot has? These tech types can always pull out some strange and bizarre things."
Compared to General Jing Yuan, who was an Emanator, Toshiro felt that scientists like Screwllum and Herta possessed a more oppressive aura.
Jing Yuan was strong, but at least his methods were laid out in the open. Screwllum and his ilk, however, technology seemed to grant them the ability to create endless trump cards and endless means to counter enemies.
Kisuke Urahara and Mayuri Kurotsuchi gave him the same feeling… no matter when, one should never stand on the opposite side of science.
—
「 At this moment, Stelle's group chat(Herta Surveillance Team) chimed again. Sure enough, public opinion in the group was gradually spiraling out of control; some were already suspecting that the disappearance case was a false flag operation by management, actually intended to eliminate dissidents.
"Justice may be late, but it will arrive. Management must step down!" — The group was filled with messages of this nature, almost without exception.
Asta panicked instantly, looking helplessly at the Stelle: "Th-this…"
Screwllum lowered his head in thought: "…No, it is not enough."
"Correct. One more fire is needed." Dr. Ratio nodded.
Asta looked at the professor with a bewildered expression: "What do you mean?"
"If it stops here, you still have a chance to sophistically argue your way out. If it were me…" Dr. Ratio crossed his arms, his gaze sharpening: "…I would not give you that chance."
Before his voice had even faded, Asta's pupils constricted abruptly—ghostly blue flames surged from beneath her feet without warning, enveloping her entire body in an instant.
"F—F—Fiiiiiiiire!" Asta watched in horror as the flames danced over her body.
"Asta!"
Stelle rushed forward almost instinctively, grabbing out with their right hand—but their fingertips merely brushed futilely past Asta's fingers, touching only a wisp of scorching air.
Right under their very nose… Asta vanished. 」
「 ..... 」