Labyrinth snickered.

No one in London could have known that, while the shadow monsters Kaiser summoned were rampaging through the city, he had been collecting this deep within a dungeon, taking advantage of the breach in the Great Barrier of London.

There had been two close calls, admittedly: once when some witch tracked the missing people to the dungeon, and again when Claire brought pursuers with her like an idiot.

["I see. That might serve in place of the Seven Arcs..."]

["Nonsense. Do you really think that paltry thing could substitute for the Seven Arcs?"]

"But imperfect as it is, we can use it as a substitute for now."

Sometimes a rice cake in your hand was better than a lump of gold in someone else's house. Chuckling as he said so, Labyrinth picked up the blood-red gem again and added,

"We'll have to offer suitable living sacrifices every time we use it, but that's only a bit of a nuisance. It's hardly beyond us, is it?"

["Sacrifices? Hundreds at minimum?"]

"That's the absolute minimum. From what I found with my skill, we'd need tens of thousands to put it to proper use."

["That certainly isn't an unreasonable number."]

The prospect of grinding people up as sacrificial fodder was accepted with utter nonchalance.

Naturally. They were the Liberation Brigade's ghosts: senior officers of the Iron Age's most notorious criminal organization, deranged criminals who had already taken countless lives.

Labyrinth addressed them with easy confidence.

"My toys already have the power to take on a Monarch. I've spent the past few years carefully raising them for that very purpose."

He sensed the jealousy in some of his Comrades' eyes. And no wonder.

Each of them might possess the strength to face a Monarch, but only when using 『Constellation Descent』. Few ghosts among them could confidently claim they could fight a Monarch without borrowing the stars' power.

That was one reason Labyrinth held fourth rank.

"All that's left is the finishing touch."

Enjoying his Comrades' stares, Labyrinth cheerfully divulged his plan.

He would pit his toys against one another in a specially constructed dungeon inspired by the ancient magic of venomous-insect poison. Then he would have the sole survivor devour the other toys, absorbing all their power.

"Then what do you think would happen if I used this to offer a hundred thousand suitable sacrifices... no, about a million, and strengthened my toy even further?"

["It would certainly make a useful asset."]

"More than useful. Third rank will be mine."

The other ghosts looked resentful, but none could refute him.

Berserker Eugene, formerly third-ranked. Judgment Bellows, formerly fifth-ranked. Now that those two high-ranking members of the twelve ghosts had met violent deaths, few could stop Labyrinth from pulling ahead.

With just two exceptions.

["No. It's too early to be certain."]

"... What's that supposed to mean?"

["It means I might be the one to take third rank."]

"What?"

Those words came from Magician, one of those two exceptions. That was why not only Labyrinth but the other ghosts were taken aback.

Ever since joining the Liberation Brigade, Magician had never relinquished the position of second-in-command. His second rank was unshakable.

For him to say this could mean only one thing.

["I see. So the Monarch of Magic wasn't the only one ready to receive the stars' blessing..."]

["As I recall, we agreed to refrain from recruiting anyone new until we secured the third of the Seven Arcs."]

["We cannot leave the vacant seats empty forever."]

Magician spoke quietly.

Not just anyone could become a ghost of the Liberation Brigade. Even if they wanted to expand their ranks, it was impossible until they secured more of the Seven Arcs.

But with four seats now vacant, they had accepted the risks and actively pursued recruitment this time. Those efforts were finally beginning to bear fruit.

["Once this recruitment is complete, we should soon be able to fill not only third rank but the remaining seats as well."]

"Tch. You just had to be so industrious."

Labyrinth clicked his tongue at losing an easy opportunity to enter the top three, whose ranks had been virtually impenetrable until now. Then he spoke confidently again.

"Still, that's even better. I'll take second rank while I'm at it, so get ready to give up your seat, Comrade."

["I look forward to it."]

Magician calmly accepted Labyrinth's challenge. Contests over rank were hardly uncommon among them, and stronger ghosts were a good thing regardless.

In particular, if Labyrinth completed his toy as planned, it would more than make up for the missing ghosts.

With that in mind, Magician spoke again.

["Working to level up like Comrade Labyrinth is commendable, but do not forget your respective missions. Especially those concerning the Seven Arcs."]

["Don't worry, Comrade. We all agree on that point."]

The ghosts nodded solemnly.

They had already failed to secure the third and fourth of the Seven Arcs and lost no fewer than four ghosts. Frankly, the Liberation Brigade had never been in such dire straits since its founding.

["Three arks remain... We cannot touch the last ark yet, and we do not know the sixth ark's precise location..."]

"So we absolutely have to get our hands on the fifth of the Seven Arcs. Is that it?"

Labyrinth also nodded, stroking the blood-red gem.

It might serve as a substitute for the Seven Arcs, but a substitute was all it was. It was nothing compared to the real thing, and above all, they had to obtain every ark to fulfill the will of the great stars.

["And guard against information leaks."]

"Information leaks? Are you saying there's a traitor among us?"

["The Seven Arcs have already been taken from us twice. We must consider the possibility that information has leaked somehow."]

Once might be coincidence, but twice could never be dismissed as such. Labyrinth scoffed at Magician's caution.

"Don't worry about nothing, Comrade. There's no way anyone besides us knows about the Seven Arcs."

["We have all sworn silence to the stars... It is certain that our security cannot be breached..."]

Their confidence was by no means excessive. Knowledge of the Seven Arcs was forbidden knowledge that neither humans nor even the great constellations could mention carelessly.

That secret must never leak—and could never leak.

And so they declared with scorn,

"Unless the dead come back to life, finding out about the Seven Arcs would be impossible."

* * *

VEEEEEN.

In the hidden chamber of Tartarus, a beautiful melody now flowed through a place normally steeped in the hushed stillness befitting a Saint's tomb.

A voice no less beautiful than the melody joined it naturally. The gentle yet profound music and the clear, pure voice intertwined in the air, forming a perfect harmony.

The melody and voice belonged, of course, to Limon and Ainsha. A world-class instrumentalist and singer who could sell out any concert hall in seconds, however many seats it held, were lavishly displaying their talents underground.

Three things were unusual.

First, Limon was playing the Guarneri Rose had given him rather than the Violin of Deepest Black.

Second, the Violin of Deepest Black lay in the empty space beside the stone coffin.

Third, Yu Na-gyeong was staring intently at it.

"Lure it out? By playing music?"

["Even if the Saint was tone-deaf in life, they were still a priest of Muse, weren't they? Wouldn't they naturally be interested in art and music?"]

"Hmm. It isn't unreasonable... But do you really think something that simple will work?"

["Whatever your personality's like, your playing is incredible, Team Leader. And the White Dragon Princess is here with us too."]

THWACK!

["Ow!"]

"Why do you always have to add something that gets you hit? Is wanting a beating some instinct of yours?"

After a few minor complications, Limon had eventually accepted Yu Na-gyeong's suggestion. They had no other way to summon the Saint's ghost, and there was no harm in trying it once.

That did not mean they had made a halfhearted attempt. He deliberately used a different violin. They decorated the tomb like a temple. Ainsha and Limon put their heads together to discuss pieces and songs likely to draw out the ghost.

They had begun their performance after making the best preparations they could.

Yu Na-gyeong's role was both the simplest and the most important of all.

["... You want me to check whether the ghost comes out? And talk to it if possible?"]

"Yes."

["You're entrusting something that important to me?"]

"You're the only one here who's seen the ghost."

The ghosts of London had been an exception. Souls were ordinarily invisible, even to the White Dragon Clan with its precognition, or to Limon, a Sword Master.

Dealing with souls was the province of witches and priests, not swordsmen.

Eyes that could see constellations might be able to manage it, but if a frightened soul hid itself away, the whole effort would be pointless anyway.

In that respect, Yu Na-gyeong was the ideal choice. Quite apart from having seen the ghost before, her appearance could hardly arouse suspicion.

Knowing that herself, she had reluctantly accepted the role of negotiating with the ghost. Now she watched the Violin of Deepest Black anxiously.

'It'll come out, won't it?'

Yu Na-gyeong hadn't made her suggestion on a whim, without any basis. She had remembered that she had seen the ghost more than once.

When she reunited with Limon after her reincarnation, at the moment he first played the Violin of Deepest Black, she had caught a faint glimpse of a translucent girl watching him.

That was the only time the ghost, which had otherwise never shown its face, had appeared before Limon. That was why she thought his playing might draw it out again.

'It'll come out. It has to...!'

But that very reason made her increasingly anxious as time passed.

Limon and Ainsha were putting on a performance so fantastic that any god or ghost should have been spellbound, unable to resist emerging of its own accord. If even this failed, it would mean they could not draw the ghost out.

Time continued to pass, until the instant the pair's performance seemed to reach its climax along with Yu Na-gyeong's anxiety.

'Ah!'