Chapter 34: A Mysterious Disappearance

When Finn opened his eyes again, it was morning the next day. The first thing he did was inspect his two black gloves that were in fact bladed gauntlets, wondering what kind of upgrades he could add to it using the Blacksmith Angelica he had.

“You won’t be able to just use trial and error on the weapon and hope it’s a real Ability,” a familiar soft voice suddenly said from behind him, exposing his thoughts.

Finn was confused, since he usually heard this voice in his head rather than on the outside. This time, however…

“… Zelestria?”

“That’s my name. Are you surprised, Finn? Fufu~”

“How and why are you here?”

“I control this world, Finn. Physically entering it is hardly difficult. As for why… it’s because I haven’t had human food in a while. You’re treating, mkay~?”

“Uh… do you even need to eat?” Finn asked hesitantly.

“No, but I can still taste food and distinguish between delicious and disgusting. Since you exited the rift a bit earlier today, everyone else is still sleeping. This is the perfect opportunity for me, y’know~?”

She set her gentle hands on Finn’s shoulders, then heaved herself up onto them without any warning. Finn nearly fell over on his bed, but managed to grab Zelestria’s legs and stabilize himself before that could happen.

“You…”

“What’s the matter~? Doesn’t that girl do this all the time with you?” Zelestria giggled. “Why can’t I do the same? Perhaps… you like her?”

“Not in the least, but I carry her only when it’s necessary. Are your legs crippled too?” Finn shot back, darkness in his voice.

Zelestria leaned down and whispered into Finn’s ear seductively, hot breath tickling his sensitive skin.

“What if I said… I just wanted to ride you~?”

Finn immediately stood up and threw Zelestria onto the bed roughly without any hesitation.

“W-Woah!”

She landed on the sheets with a soft thud, blinking a few times in surprise before finally realizing what happened.

“Ara ara~ bad boy…” she moaned, slightly sticking her tongue out and closing one eye seductively. She purposely pulled down tightly on her robe and posed herself to showcase her voluptuous body, especially her ample breasts and thighs.

Quite unfortunately for her, however, Finn couldn’t even see her. He merely turned around and headed out the door, completely immune to her charm.

Zelestria pouted and folded her arms. “Hmph… I thought I actually managed to stimulate him, too…”

Getting up from the bed, she followed Finn downstairs into the kitchen.

*****

“What do you want to eat?” Finn asked, exasperated. Since he needed to eat anyway, he figured he might as well comply with Zelestria’s request and make her something as well.

“Hm… bacon and eggs, I suppose. But do you even know how to make that…?”

“I do, but look for yourself.

Finn pulled open the refrigerator’s door, allowing Zelestria to get a glimpse of what was inside.

“Is there any bacon?”

“Not that I can see.”

He then switched to the bottom compartment and pulled it open once more.

“Are there any eggs?”

“Nope.”

“And there you have it,” Finn said, shutting the door tight and folding his arms. “What now?”

“In that case, fufufu…” Zelestria giggled like a little succubus and rested her chin on her hand as she sat at the table, gazing at Finn’s figure. “You received your reward from slaying that Titan-class Phantom a little while ago, right?”

“Uh… yeah. My bank account information was on the guild registration form I filled in, so the money should be there by now.”

“I see. Then… why don’t you buy me some takeout~?”

“… Fine.”

Ordering take-out saved some trouble for Finn anyway, so naturally, he didn’t mind. The only problem was… typing on his phone was a bit of a hassle since he was unable to see.

So, in the end, he just let Zelestria operate his phone, telling her his bank info for payment.

A horrible mistake.

*****

– Several Minutes Later –

“… Just how much did you order?” Finn asked, smelling the air. There were about fifty different scents right now, all of different dishes.

“Fufu, don’t worry about it.” Zelestria laughed happily. “It’s been so long since I had such a meal… thank you, darling~”

‘… Darling?’

He already regretted his decision of letting Zelestria order, but there was nothing he could do about it now. Luckily, taking down Alpha Lupi should earn the Squadron some rewards, so he probably wouldn’t end up broke, but…

About half an hour later, the two finished eating. Zelestria ate about 90% of the food, while Finn only ate the remaining 10%.

“Fwah… that was delicious…”

“… Do you always eat this much?”

“No, of course not. The last time I was able to enjoy human food like this was… about a full year ago.”

“That’s because you don’t even need to eat.”

“Well yes, but actually no. Food is delicious, after all. It would be a shame not to taste them just because I don’t need to, wouldn’t it?”

“Hm…? What’s going on… Finn…?” A female voice suddenly interrupted the conversation as the mansion’s elevator doors opened, soft and groggy as if she had just woke up.

Zelestria blinked, stuffing one last piece of chicken into her mouth.

“Oops~ time for me to go. See you, darling~”

Finn quickly spun around. “Wai-“

But she was already gone, vanishing into thin air. The only sign of her ever being here was the fifty empty plates and cartons of food laying around on the table. Awkwardly turning back to the newcomer, Finn remained as calm as ever as he tried to think of a good excuse.

“Uh… good morning, Iris.”

“Good morning, Finn- wait, how did you eat this much?!”

“… Great question.”

That was the only thing Finn could respond with. Luckily, Iris didn’t seem to have seen Zelestria, but this was still quite a troublesome situation.

“I… you know what, never mind,” Iris sighed. “It’s not really my place to tell you what to do anyway, and besides, it’s your money. But that aside, have you seen Archon…?

Finn shook his head. “I assumed he was sleeping in his room…”

“No, the door to his room was open, and he wasn’t in there…”

“Then…”

As a tense silence fell between the two, Iris was the first to break it and address the elephant in the room.

“Finn… do you think something may have happened yesterday night, when he went to deliver the body to Heartbeat…?”

“He could just be doing something outside right now, but I highly doubt it,” Finn replied, then furrowed his brows in thought. “It seems… we have some more trouble to deal with.”

*****

– Meanwhile, Phantom Slayer Corps, 7th Squadron Lair –

“How does it feel, Archon?” A man laughed darkly as he sat on a throne, appearance hidden by the shadows in the room. To the naked eye, the man was nothing but a black silhouette.

“You… bastard…!” Archon growled, pulling on the chains that bound him to a cross. Bloodstains were on the corners of his mouth and his body’s entire top half, which had been stripped clean of clothes to reveal well-built, sturdy muscles underneath.

“Hmph. Again.”

At the man’s order, two servants standing beside Archon’s battered body lifted their whips and swung down with all their might, performing a satisfying snapping sound.

“GRAH!” Archon yelled in pain.

“Do you think this hurts, Archon?” The man asked in a low and quiet voice, soft yet menacing. “Do you think this is hell?”

But despite the agony, Archon managed to put a defiant smile on his face and chuckle.

“Heh… I’ve been through worse.”

“Is that so… again.”

On cue, the two servants snapped their whips and struck Archon’s body once more, causing him to cry out in pain. The whips were stained with fresh and old blood alike, as the torture session carried on since several hours ago.

“If you think this hurts… then think about what my brother had to endure,” the man said coldly. “Blasted into pieces… body ripped apart by shrapnels… all because of you. You, and that damn bitch.”

“Bastard… you can hurt me all you want, but don’t you DARE lay a hand on Melvia!” Archon roared in fury, shaking the chains that bound him violently.

At this, the man laughed. “Oh…? And what makes you think you’re in any position to be making empty threats?”

“…!”

The man stood up from his throne and slowly walked towards Archon, one step at a time.

“I’ll make you experience the same suffering I did. How it feels to lose someone most important to you… I’ll make you understand, Archon.”

Lifting a sharp pocket knife and gently placing it on Archon’s bloodstained, bruised cheeks, he continued.

“I’ll carve that woman who you so love dearly into pieces. No… better yet, I’ll make you watch as I have her frantically dismantle a mine… only to detonate it before she can. This whip, this pain… it’s nothing compared to what’s coming next. You have yet to know true hell — but you’ll experience it soon enough.”

“You wouldn’t…!”

“Oh, but I would. And when I do, Archon… you will bear witness.”