Chương 104: A Failed Plan

"So. This, uh… this-is-Phantasm-of-the-Crucible-he'll-be-working-with-us-now." Levi spoke the words as quickly as possible, hoping that if they blended in with each other enough, maybe Anastasia wouldn't react. Surely, that was how it worked, right? No such luck. Anastasia's eyes widened, and she looked at Levi with such immense horror, it was as though he had just told her that he enjoyed eating puppies (which, just for the record, he did not).

"W-What?" Phantasm inclined his head.

"It's a pleasure to formally meet you, High Priestess Anastasia."

"The pleasure is all mine–" Anastasia began to automatically respond, but then she caught herself.

"Wait, no, it is most certainly not my pleasure," she hissed, her emerald green eyes beginning to give off a faint glow.

"What are you doing here? Levi, what is this?" Levi coughed.

"Well. As it turns out, Terminus is actually part of the Crucible. Phantasm was the coworker he mentioned, the one who knew how to reach the Source." Anastasia blinked.

"What?" Her expression somehow grew even more horrified.

"You mean…"

"Yeah," Levi said, his voice pained.

"Trust me, I don't like it any more than you do, but unless we want to trawl around the eastern islands for an indeterminate amount of time searching for the Source, we have no choice but to work with him."

"Can't he just tell us where it is and we'll go there by ourselves?" Anastasia asked, her tone somewhat desperate.

"Not an option, I'm afraid," Phantasm said.

"The Source, as you know, is the root from which all phenomena stem. It is where the System's architecture is located, the sacred code which governs this reality. Every skill we use, every Class we champion, every magical point we consume, originates from the Source. It is, in many ways, the wellspring of this world. Consequently, it is both very well-hidden and well-guarded. Most people do not even know of its existence, much less how to reach it. Those who do… Well." He tapped his head.

"Let's just say that we've been cursed with knowledge." Levi understood immediately.

"You're physically unable to reveal its location?"

"Precisely. I confess, I do not know if it's System-enforced, or if it's simply some instinctual part of my brain pre-programmed to not give away the Source's secrets. Whatever the case, the curse ensures that I can't tell anyone where the Source is or how to get there, amongst other assorted details. All I can do is lead the way." Phantasm sighed.

"Why are you two looking at me like that? You're acting like working with me will be so terrible. I'll have you know that I'm actually an exemplary team player. I've received quite a few employee recognition awards from Crucible's upper management, you know." Levi paused.

"Seriously?"

"No, of course not. But the point still stands. Come on, I'm sure we'll have a great time." Selene looked between them.

"What's wrong with Phantasm? My instincts are reacting quite favorably toward him, and they almost never do that for anyone." Anastasia snorted.

"Why am I not surprised…" Phantasm brightened.

"See? I'm glad at least one member of your party is a good judge of character–""She's an archdemon," Anastasia said flatly.

"... ah," Phantasm said. He reconsidered his angle.

"Well, I'm sure that working with me can't possibly be any more painful than working with her?" Anastasia paused. Much to Levi's silent amusement, that seemed to actually convince her. He didn't miss the dark looks she and Selene exchanged. Clearly, they'd woken up to a rather distressing situation that morning. Anastasia sighed.

"I… I suppose I cannot argue against that. Very well – though I will be keeping an eye on you."

"I wouldn't expect anything less," Phantasm chuckled.

"For what it's worth, I do look forward to working together. I've heard many great things about you. Seen many great things too, though I doubt you were aware of my presence at the time." Anastasia blinked.

"What?"

"The way you dispatched the Infernal Lich was a work of art. Simply magnificent."

"You… You were watching that?" Anastasia shuddered.

"Creepy…"

"I take offense to that," Phantasm said, sounding rather hurt.

"I was just lurking like any normal member of a secret organization."

"Yeah, I'm sure – hold on, were you responsible for its rampage?"

"Heavens, no," Phantasm said.

"I can't claim credit for every evil that occurs. I was just in the area and was curious." Anastasia gave him a suspicious glare, but decided to accept it.

"I see… Well. Let's move out, shall we?" They ended up handing the Huntsman over to the Resistance. Now that they had Phantasm with them, they no longer needed the Huntsman's guidance or expository assistance. The Resistance gleefully accepted him into their custody. Apparently, captive Huntsmen were rare to come by; most either fought to the death or committed suicide. The Huntsman did shoot Levi a betrayed look as he was led away by the Resistance members. Levi admittedly felt a little bad about that, but… well.

Things like this were just part of being a professional. Phantasm had a ship with him that was layered with numerous stealth enchantments specifically tailored to counter the detection matrixes the imperial government had set up. He knew the specific magical frequencies to either replicate or negate. Levi felt mildly paranoid as he boarded the ship, but at least this let them ditch the far slower rowboat they were using earlier. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen.

Please report the violation. And then they were off. Phantasm steered the ship at the helm while Levi, Anastasia, and Selene stood on the deck, watching the surface of the ocean zip by. The ship was fast, using some sort of vacuum propulsion system that generated a vacuum in the front to effectively pull the ship forward. Unlike classic wind propulsion, vacuum propulsion was capable of fooling the imperial sensors. The island of Hoka was located in the northern archipelago of Yukihasa, in the more remote areas.

The Source, on the other hand, was located in the far eastern islands. To get there, they had to sail through regions that were either heavily impacted by or currently undergoing active warfare. Phantasm suggested taking a longer, more circuitous route that would've allowed them to avoid more of such areas, but Levi had decided against it. Time was of the essence here. Even now, he didn't know how the Chorus had detected that he'd entered Yukihasa.

He needed to get to the Source before the Chorus realized that he was still alive. As such, the route they took was far more direct but also far more dangerous. Not just in terms of war; they had to sail through monster-infested waters. The ocean's perilous depths were home to some of the most dangerous creatures alive, and they didn't always keep to the deep. Within the first hour of sailing out from Hoka, they were already attacked.

Massive tentacles the size of thick oak trees suddenly burst from the sea, attaching to the sides of the ship and sprawling over the deck. The entire ship shuddered, shaking violently as enchantments came to life, trying to keep the ship together. Even more tentacles burst from the sea around them, the water churning violently as they were rapidly surrounded by a swarm of krakens.

"Giant krakens," Phantasm said calmly from where he stood at the helm.

"They're fairly integral to the local ecosystem, so try to not kill them."

"What?" Levi shouted back.

"How are they integral?"

"Is this really the time for a lesson in marine ecology?"

"Point. Then how are we supposed to get them to leave?" Phantasm shrugged.

"I believe in you." Levi cursed. Against such massive creatures, he actually didn't have a foolproof method of driving them away. He had many methods to kill them, of course, but judging by the hard look Anastasia was giving him, she wouldn't be very happy about that. He didn't want to misjudge his power and accidentally kill them. Fortunately, Selene stepped up to the front of the ship. They watched her curiously as she gazed down at the krakens below.

Then, she turned to one of the tentacles strewn across the ship's deck and grazed her hand across it. Instantly, the tentacle froze. Then, a terrible tremor ran through it, spasming in visible fear, before all the tentacles hastily retreated, practically getting tangled in the process. The message was passed around, and then great waves rushed across the surface as the krakens scrambled to swim away. Levi, Anastasia, and Phantasm all stared at Selene as she turned back around.

"Yes?" she asked.

"What was that?" Levi said slowly. Selene shrugged.

"I claimed this ship as my territory." She smiled without a trace of emotion.

"They got the message." Huh. Okay. Archdemon things, Levi assumed.

"Impressive," Phantasm said.

"If not somewhat disturbing. I wish I had that ability…" He looked between Selene and the other two.

"What's the story there, by the by? I don't know if Terminus already asked, but he didn't tell me much. Why are the three of you in a party together? This is a rather unusual teamup." Levi paused, exchanging glances with Selene and Anastasia.

"We're… friends?" Selene and Anastasia both immediately flinched, looking as though he'd pressed a red-hot iron against their sclera.

"United against a common enemy," Levi corrected quickly. Phantasm blinked.

"What enemy would that be?" He chuckled.

"The System?"

"... and if I said it was?"

"Then I'd think you'll do quite well as a court jester if you ever decide the adventurer life is not for you," Phantasm said. He chortled.

"If the System ever deemed you to be its enemy and enacted a [Deletion Protocol], then I don't think even a memory of you would be left behind." Levi made sure to keep his face carefully blank.

"Yeah…"

"But suit yourself," Phantasm said.

"Keep your secrets. It's just not every day you see a High Priestess, an archdemon, and an archmage on a journey together to the Source." He tilted his head.

"Why go there, anyhow? Not many adventurers tend to even be interested in the System itself, much less the Source. You don't exactly strike me as the magical research type."

"Speak for yourself," Levi said.

"I'm Heimler's lab assistant, you know." Oddly, Phantasm stiffened slightly at that.

"Heimler? As in Mythmaker Aldric Heimler?" Levi nodded slowly.

"Yes." That was a rather strange reaction. Though, Heimler was one of the few people in the world who knew of the Crucible's existence. When he'd caught Levi in the Restricted Sanctum, he'd even asked if Levi was from the Crucible. Were they enemies? They had to be, if that was Heimler's first thought upon facing an invisible foe. Perhaps Heimler had clashed with the organization before.

"Do you know him?" Phantasm recovered from the slip in his composure.

"Of course I know Mythmaker Aldric Heimler. Who doesn't? He slew an Old Vampiric Lord and ended the Third Blood War." He paused.

"And you… you say you're his lab assistant? You're helping with his research?"

"Yes…" Phantasm stared at him for several long moments. Then, he laughed.

"Well. Good luck with that." Levi frowned.

"What does that mean?" But Phantasm refused to say anything more. They continued sailing, dealing with several more monster attacks on the way. Carnivorous fish that jumped into the air and tried to take chunks out their throats, giant eels that rammed into the ship's hull, venomous jellyfish that released clouds of lethal gas… The list went on and on. Levi took care of them all with ease. Then, after several hours, Phantasm's head suddenly snapped to the right.

Instantly, Levi tensed up, leaping back and readying his magic. After Montague and Minato, he was a little paranoid of any sudden head snaps. Did the Chorus somehow control Phantasm as well? Fortunately, Phantasm merely groaned.

"Now? Of all times?" Levi furrowed his brow, glancing over as well. He couldn't see anything – wait, no. A ship suddenly surfaced from below right next to them, and before Phantasm could steer them away, it rammed into their ship with a mighty groan. Dozens of hooks shot into their ship, piercing the hull and preventing them from escaping.

"What in the…" Levi muttered.

"Oh, you have to be kidding me. Pirates?"

"Worse," Phantasm said, sounding irritated.

"I recognize that flag. They're powerful pirates." Indeed, a black flag emblazoned with a bone-white skull design rose high up in the air on the new ship. Two dozen armed men leaped onto their ship and surrounded them. They were deeply scarred, their skin rough and their smiles predatory. They wore what looked to be extremely high-quality gear, and with just a glance, Levi could tell that they were all orichalcum-tier, perhaps even adamantine-tier.

"Alright, you know the drill," the lead pirate drawled.

"We're the Death Raiders. I'm sure I don't need to elaborate. Money, valuables, women…" He grinned.

"Hand them all over, and I might just let you live." Levi stared. Death Raiders? What… What the fuck kind of a name was that supposed to be? His magic stirred within him. Yeah, no. He had to take care of this.