**392. 1,054 People**
—
The Arhon Empire.
A nation regarded as the strongest human state across the entire continent.
The Empire never allows foreign invasion.
Since the birth of the Arhon Empire, there had never once been an incident where the imperial capital burned.
Countless groups and forces had set their sights on the Empire, yet none of their intentions ever reached it.
The strongest of humanity.
No—
the strongest nation on the continent itself was the Empire.
“…What… is this…?”
…Which was why the imperial capital should never have burned.
Yet now, before Raiga’s very eyes—
Not just anywhere, but the imperial capital itself, the imperial palace, was ablaze.
The outer walls of buildings had collapsed, and charred corpses lay scattered everywhere.
But the place that had suffered the most devastating destruction was none other than the altar.
The altar of the Reaper Cult.
The most sacred site revered by the Reaper Cult had been completely smashed, to the point where its original form could no longer be recognized.
And at its center—
“…You’re late, Raiga.”
There stood a man.
Yet something felt off.
That voice was unmistakably the Golden Mask’s.
But the man’s current appearance was far removed from the Golden Mask Raiga knew.
The resplendent golden mask that once shone brilliantly was now caked in dust, cracked and half-shattered.
And the face revealed through the broken mask—
…was horrific.
It was so mangled that it was unbearable to look at.
Completely burned.
Why had the mighty Golden Mask ended up like this?
And in this place of all places—the imperial palace.
“…Who invaded?”
“It wasn’t an invasion.”
“Then?”
“Betrayal.”
Betrayal.
Who could have betrayed him?
When Raiga thought about it, there were too many possibilities.
It could have been other high-ranking members of the Reaper Cult who despised the Golden Mask.
Perhaps the Golden Lion, who couldn’t stand his arrogance.
Or the Fox, who had recently been moving the Balrog Order with some hidden agenda.
Raiga had returned to the Empire precisely to assess and deal with such movements.
But it seemed he had arrived a step too late.
“Who betrayed you?”
“…The Executioners.”
Not one, but many.
That made it even more puzzling.
Judging by his condition, the Golden Mask had clearly been pushed to the brink of death.
And yet, a handful of Executioners could never have killed him.
What could be seen was not everything.
What the Golden Mask possessed was beyond imagination.
Even Raiga would need thorough preparation to kill him.
The Golden Mask continued speaking.
“Phantom’s avatars.”
Heh.
The Golden Mask suddenly smiled.
Not his usual composed smile—
but a twisted, grotesque one.
He then picked up a fragment of a broken sword and reflected his face in it.
“Thanks to them, I feel liberated. Only now do I feel like I’ve truly reclaimed myself!”
He liked that monstrous appearance?
The real problem was that, just like his face, the Golden Mask’s inner self had also changed.
He felt like a completely different person.
And not in a good way.
Raiga frowned.
Executioners presumed to be Phantom’s avatars had betrayed him.
Their targets were the altar and the Golden Mask.
They had achieved half their goal and vanished.
The first name that came to mind was the Thunder Lion.
There was no doubt that he had destroyed the altar.
But—
“Golden Mask. Who did this to your face?”
That injury was not caused by the Thunder Lion.
The Thunder Lion was undoubtedly powerful, but given his attributes, it would have been extremely difficult for him to pierce the Golden Mask’s authority and deal such damage.
Moreover, those wounds were not scorch marks from lightning.
They were physical gouges.
As if someone had grabbed the Golden Mask by the head, shoved his face into the inferno, and scraped it against a wall.
Only someone with monstrous physical strength could have done this.
Was there such a monster among Phantom’s avatars?
“……”
Recalling the one who had humiliated him—
the Golden Mask’s smile stiffened.
“…One of Phantom’s avatars.”
“So, not an Executioner.”
Yet aside from Executioners, Phantom’s avatars should not have been present in the imperial palace.
Judging by his words, even the Golden Mask himself didn’t seem to know who it was.
Then who?
The instigators had already fled the Empire.
“Whoever the traitors are, only death awaits them. And I will annihilate everything connected to Phantom, that embodiment of evil. Raiga. You’re not opposed to that, are you?”
“…Do you know where the Executioners went?”
“They’re heading for the Labyrinth City.”
“…The city under Fifth-Pillar of the White King?”
Fifth-Pillar, the King of Corpse Crows.
It was a city designated by the White King himself.
Touching it would spark a war.
Then why were the traitorous Executioners heading to the Labyrinth City?
Because it lay outside the Empire’s influence?
The Golden Mask’s earlier words—*don’t oppose me*—were likely because of this.
“Are you prepared to wage war against the White King?”
…The Golden Mask was planning to start a war.
Even against the White King, the ruler of the north.
If the Labyrinth City were truly attacked, the White King would not remain idle.
As the Empire’s greatest swordsman and guardian knight, Raiga could not easily agree.
He wanted to leave the Reaper Cult’s affairs to the Reaper Cult.
Yet this was not entirely separate.
The imperial palace had been attacked.
A sacred site where the Emperor resided had been assaulted—he couldn’t simply oppose retaliation.
At the very least, the Executioners who led the betrayal had to be captured and executed.
As Raiga continued weighing these thoughts—
“Listen carefully, Raiga. Don’t be shocked.”
“…?”
Suddenly, the Golden Mask’s eyes gleamed.
And then he dropped a bombshell.
“The Goat is Fifth-Pillar.”
“…That’s nonsense.”
The Golden Goat.
The title of the twelfth lineage patron.
It made no sense.
There was no way a Corpse Crow could awaken lineage.
But the shocking revelations continued.
“Fifth-Pillar is Phantom.”
“……”
“We’ve been toyed with from the very beginning. By him. By Randolph!”
Fifth-Pillar Randolph.
And Randolph, presumed to be Phantom.
Not just people with the same name—
they were truly the same individual.
Still, it was hard to comprehend.
Northern Cramdel’s hatred of humans was infamous.
It was unimaginable that the White King would appoint a human as his core force.
And if he hadn’t noticed—
that too would be strange.
…But then—
Raiga recalled the Randolph he had seen.
At the Tower of the Martial God.
The monster who matched Wilhelm blow for blow.
The being who summoned the Wicked God Baal and the Blade Dragon God.
When Raiga thought of that Randolph, he couldn’t dismiss the idea outright.
If it was *that* Randolph, then anything seemed possible.
More than that, hadn’t Raiga himself once associated Randolph with the Goat?
He had tried to deny it—but if the Goat and Randolph were one and the same…
Then, as the Golden Mask said, they had indeed been toyed with.
Raiga.
The Golden Mask.
The Reaper Cult.
…And even the Empire.
“Worship!”
At that moment, the Golden Mask turned toward the heart of the palace and spread his arms wide.
“I can feel it! His Majesty the Emperor is awakening!”
*
*
“….”
The Thunder Lion and the Executioners were walking along a mountain path.
Their number was around forty.
Yet the one leading them was not the Thunder Lion.
“Hey, where are we going? Are we heading to the Labyrinth City?”
“……”
The man at the very front gave no answer.
A man with a hulking build, wearing a wide-brimmed hat.
He was not an Executioner, yet he was leading them.
*Who is he?*
The Thunder Lion kept tilting his head in confusion.
The man had appeared while the Thunder Lion was destroying the Reaper Cult’s altar and fighting the Golden Mask.
They had launched a surprise attack, but the Golden Mask had not fallen easily.
In fact, he was far stronger than expected.
So strong that even when all the Executioners poured out their combined firepower, they couldn’t even touch him.
*That feather… That was definitely the Blue Bird’s feather.*
The reason was simple.
Not only was the Golden Mask powerful himself, but the **Blue Bird’s feather** he possessed reflected and nullified all their attacks.
There was no way he could have mistaken it.
It was the same Blue Bird’s feather he remembered.
Why the Golden Mask possessed it was unclear.
*If this man hadn’t appeared, we would’ve been wiped out.*
At the brink of annihilation, this man had shown up.
The moment he appeared, he crushed the Golden Mask’s face.
After that, using his abilities, they were able to escape the Empire.
“Why didn’t you kill the Golden Mask?”
“…He can’t be killed.”
The man spoke for the first time.
He couldn’t be killed?
Even though this man had done what the Executioners themselves failed to do?
“I could only strike him once. He’ll never fall for it twice. So escape was the only option.”
“You had only one chance?”
“‘The Golden Mask’ isn’t human. That’s all I’ll say for now.”
“Not… human?”
What did that mean?
An imperial figure—a Reaper Cult executive—not human?
Wasn’t he even called the Crown Prince?
When they descended the mountain, the massive **Labyrinth City** came into view.
The man spoke again.
“This is as far as I can guide you—the Labyrinth City.”
“Wait. You’re leaving us here?”
“…I’m an observer. I’m not supposed to interfere.”
The man let out a sigh.
The reason he had broken the rules and appeared—
was to prevent the Thunder Lion and the Executioners from dying.
Slowly, he continued.
“There are **1,054 Phantom avatars** in this world. Your task is to gather them here. Only then will Phantom awaken.”
“…Where is Phantom now?”
“He’s asleep. To awaken him, as many of his avatars as possible are needed.”
“Avatars… What makes you think we can find them?”
“You’ll know naturally. You’re connected. Through dreams, intuition—something will guide you.”
That sounded right.
A strange sense of kinship was already there.
Not just with the Executioners—but with this man as well.
…Hard to explain, but he carried the same *scent* of an avatar.
“But be careful. Some of them are stronger and more stubborn than you. Especially those ‘three’… be particularly cautious.”
“The three?”
“You’ll find out naturally.”
The man shrugged and rummaged through his coat.
A **fishing rod**.
The same one they had used to escape the Empire.
When he cast it into the air—
*Ziiiing—*
A blue warp formed.
As he stepped through it, he said:
“Just as Phantom helped you *survive*, this time, it’s your turn to help *Phantom survive*.”
Survival.
The first memory all of them shared of Phantom.
Without him, they would never have survived.
Now, it was time to repay that debt.
As the man vanished with the warp, the Thunder Lion and the Executioners stood stiff-faced before the Labyrinth City.
*Creeeak—*
The massive city gates opened.
And as the Thunder Lion entered the Labyrinth City—
“…Huh.”
He was left completely speechless by the sight inside.
