Chapter 65 – The Phantom Party

The morning sun hit my face like a wet slap.

Olvido was disgusting today. Birds screamed their happy little songs. The cobblestones practically sparkled. The whole town vibrated with a nauseating level of cheerfulness that made my skin crawl. It was the worst possible setting for a dark revenge plot. But I didn’t mind. Not today.

“Are you ready.”

I stood by the town gate. My hand rested on the strap of my pack. It was light. Just the essentials. Water. Dried meat. A small notebook hidden in my inner jacket pocket containing a curated list of cool lines to say when you get betrayed.

“I think so.”

Leo looked pale. His hands trembled at his sides. He stared at the ground like it was about to open up and swallow him whole.

I grinned internally.

It was perfect. He was getting into character. This kid was a natural.

“You look nervous.”

I clapped a hand on his shoulder. I gave him my best wise mentor smile.

“Good. Keep that energy. Use it.”

“But Ryuuji. Are you sure about this. If we find them. If things go wrong.”

He looked up at me. His green eyes were wide and wet.

“Things won’t go wrong.”

I squeezed his shoulder.

“We have the element of surprise. And we have justice on our side.”

The lie tasted sweet. We didn’t have justice. We had a script. And I desperately needed him to become a threat to me.

“Okay.”

“Remember the plan.”

We walked out of the gate. The guards waved. I ignored them. We left the safety of the town behind. The forest loomed ahead.

“We find them. We confirm their identities. We let them talk.”

Leo glanced at me. Confusion flickered in his intense gaze.

“Let them talk. Why would we want to listen to them.”

“Because.”

I paused for dramatic effect. I looked at the tree line.

“True villainy reveals itself in arrogance. If we let them speak, they’ll justify their actions. They’ll show us exactly who they are.”

I needed to hear their motivations. A villain who just stabs you is boring. A villain who explains why you deserved it is cinema. I needed him to understand that.

“You want them to dig their own graves.”

Leo stared at me. A look of horrified awe spread across his face.

“You want to strip away their excuses before you break them.”

I blinked. That was aggressive. A lot more intense than I intended. But it worked. It sounded edgy.

“Exactly.”

We marched into the forest. Two actors on a stage. Walking toward a climax that only one of us understood.

The hike was long.

I set a brisk pace. I wanted to get there before my nerve failed. Or before Kenji woke up and decided to help. Or before Reina decided to burn down the forest to protect me.

“Leo. Let’s review the backstory.”

I kicked a pinecone. It skittered across the path.

“Tell me about Marcus again.”

Leo flinched. He hesitated. He looked like he was searching for the words.

“He was the leader. Tall. Blonde. Arrogant.”

“Good. Classic trope. What kind of arrogant.”

“The kind who thinks he’s the main character. He never listened. He treated me like an NPC.”

My heart sang.

“Yes. Perfect. An NPC. That’s the line. Use that.”

I pulled out my notebook. I scribbled treated like an NPC under the heading Reasons for Vengeance.

“And the mage. Lyssa.”

“Cold. Calculating. She would sell her own grandmother for a mana potion.”

“Sell her grandmother. Nice touch. Very specific.”

I nodded. I was so proud of him. He had described them well. They sounded like caricatures. Stereotypes of the Evil Party Member.

“They sound hateable.”

“They are.”

Leo’s voice dropped. It trembled.

“They took everything, Ryuuji. My gear. My dignity. My trust.”

“And today we take it back.”

We walked in silence for a while. The trees grew thicker. The light dimmed. The atmosphere was shifting. It was getting gloomier. Better.

“Do you have your line ready.”

I looked at him.

“My line.”

“For when you see them. You can’t just say hello. You need an opener. Something that establishes dominance.”

Leo looked lost.

“I was just going to yell at them.”

I shook my head. I stopped walking. I turned to face him.

“No. Yelling is for victims. You are an avenger. You need to be cold. Detached.”

I cleared my throat. I struck a pose. I looked past him at a squirrel.

“Try something like this. I crawled back from hell to drag you down with me.“

Leo stared.

“Is that. A bit much.”

“It’s never too much. This is revenge. It’s supposed to be extra.”

He looked down at his hands.

“I don’t know if I can be that cool.”

“You can. I believe in you.”

I patted his back.

“Just channel your pain. Let it flow.”

We reached the ruins an hour later.

It was an old fortress from a previous era. The walls were crumbling. Vines choked the stone. Moss covered everything. The air was stagnant.

“This is the place.”

I stopped in the center of a dilapidated courtyard. I looked around. I nodded with satisfaction.

“Atmospheric. Good acoustics. Perfect.”

I turned to him.

“Okay, Leo. Where are they.”

This was the moment.

Leo closed his eyes. He took a deep breath. He seemed to be listening to something I couldn’t hear.

“They’re here.”

His voice was a whisper. It trembled with fear.

“I can feel them.”

He pointed toward the shadowed archway of the main keep.

The air shimmered.

It rippled like water. Shadows coalesced. Light bent.

Four figures stepped out of the darkness.

I stared.

My jaw dropped.

First was Marcus. The leader. He was exactly as Leo described. Tall. Blonde. A sneer that looked like it had been carved into his face by a master sculptor of douchebags.

Then Lyssa. The mage. Beautiful. Cold. She was looking at her fingernails. She looked bored by existence itself.

Sara. The cleric. She had a cruel, pious smile.

And Dante. The archer. He was leaning against a pillar. He was sharpening a dagger.

They were perfect.

They were caricatures. They were walking tropes. They were designed to be hated.

“Well, well.”

The illusion of Marcus sneered. His voice echoed off the stone walls.

“Look what the cat dragged in.”

I froze.

My brain short-circuited.

Look what the cat dragged in.

It was a cliché. It was a classic. It established dominance. It dismissed the victim. It set the tone for the encounter in six words.

I nudged Leo with my elbow.

“Did you hear that.”

I whispered. I could barely contain my excitement.

“He actually said look what the cat dragged in. That’s gold, Leo. You can’t write this stuff.”

Leo looked at me. His face was a mask of pale terror. But his eyes held a strange confusion.

“You. You like it.”

“I love it.”

I hissed back.

“It makes them completely irredeemable. This means we don’t have to hold back. Go on. Talk to them. Give them the speech we practiced.”

I stepped back. I crossed my arms. I leaned against a crumbling pillar.

I wanted to watch this. I wanted to see my protégé take his first steps into darkness.

Leo hesitated. He looked at the figures. Then back at me.

He took a shaky breath.

“Marcus.”

His voice was weak.

“Louder.”

I coached from the sidelines.

“Project from the diaphragm. Let them hear your pain.”

Leo straightened his spine. He glared at the blonde swordsman.

“Marcus. You thought I was dead.”

“We hoped you were dead.”

The mage chimed in. Her voice was high. Mocking.

“Honestly, Leo. You were always so hard to get rid of. Like a stain on a good carpet.”

“Ooh.”

I muttered to myself.

“Carpet metaphor. Brutal. Ten points to Gryffindor.”

I pulled out my notebook. I shielded it from view. I scribbled down Like a stain on a good carpet.

The leader stepped forward.

“Why did you come back, trash. Did you come to beg for scraps. We already took your gear. We took your dignity. What’s left.”

This was it. The setup.

Leo looked at me again. He looked lost. He was faltering. The trauma was too fresh.

I realized I had to step in. Not to save him. That would ruin his development. But to facilitate the scene. To give him the push he needed.

I walked forward. I placed myself slightly in front of Leo.

“He didn’t come to beg.”

I kept my voice calm. Bored. I channeled my inner edgelord. I imagined I was the coolest, most detached anime character in existence.

“He came to collect.”

The four figures turned their eyes to me.

“And who is this.”

Marcus sneered.

“Another loser. Did you find a friend in the gutter, Leo.”

“A friend.”

I chuckled darkly.

“No. I’m just a spectator. I’m here to watch you realize how badly you messed up.”

I looked at Leo.

“Leo. Look at them. They aren’t strong. They’re arrogant. They think they’ve won because they have better gear and higher levels.”

I paused.

“But they forgot the most important rule of adventuring.”

“What rule.”

The archer asked. He spun his dagger.

“Never leave a survivor.”

I said it softly.

I turned back to Leo.

“Tell them, Leo. Tell them what you’re going to do.”

Leo stared at me. The fear in his eyes was shifting. It was hardening into something cold. Something metallic.

“I’m going to destroy you.”

Leo said.

It was simple. It was direct.

“I’m going to take everything from you. Just like you took it from me. And I’m going to start with your reputations.”

“Ha.”

Marcus laughed.

“You and what army.”

I grinned.

“This army.”

I gestured to myself.

“The Army of One.”

God. That was cheesy. I hoped no one heard that part. But in the moment, it felt right. It felt legit.

The figures didn’t move. They just stared.

Something felt off.

They were too still. Too perfect. They didn’t breathe like normal people. They stood like statues waiting for a cue.

Leo was looking at them too. His expression was intense.

“Enough talk.”

Marcus shouted. He drew his sword.

“Kill them both.”

The four figures surged forward.

“Ryuuji.”

Leo shouted. He sounded terrified.

“Look out.”

This was the test.

Would he fight. Would he kill. Or would his trauma freeze him.

I didn’t draw my sword.

I didn’t even flinch.

I just stood there. Hands in my pockets. Watching the steel bear down on me with an expression of mild disappointment.

“Too slow.”

I muttered.

Because they were. They were moving like they were wading through molasses. It was pathetic.

The sword swung toward my head.

I stepped to the side. Just an inch.

The blade whistled past my ear.

“Is that it.”

I asked. I sounded bored.

“Is that the best you’ve got.”

I looked at Marcus.

His eyes were dead. Empty. Like a doll’s eyes.

Wait.

I narrowed my eyes.

I looked at the mage. She was casting a spell. But her hands weren’t moving right. It was a loop. A repeated animation.

I looked at Leo.

He was cowering behind me. But his hands were moving. Subtle twitches. Like he was pulling strings.

A thought struck me. A terrible, disappointing thought.

These weren’t real people.

They were illusions.

Leo had made them up. He had conjured them.

Why.

To impress me. To show me he was ready. To practice.

My heart sank.

This wasn’t a confrontation. It was a rehearsal.

“Leo.”

I sighed.

“You can stop now.”

The figures froze.

The sword stopped inches from my chest.

Leo looked up. He looked guilty.

“What do you mean.”

“These aren’t real. You made them.”

I waved my hand through Marcus’s chest. It passed through smoke and light.

“This is just training wheels.”

Leo stood up straight. The fear vanished from his face.

“You figured it out.”

“It was obvious. The dialogue was too good. Real villains aren’t that witty.”

I shook my head.

“I appreciate the effort, Leo. Really. It shows initiative. But we need the real thing.”

I turned away from the frozen illusions.

“We can’t get revenge on smoke.”

Leo was silent. He stared at me. His green eyes were unreadable.

“You’re not mad.”

“Why would I be mad. You’re practicing. That’s good. But next time, warn me. I almost wasted a cool one-liner on a hologram.”

I started walking toward the exit of the courtyard.

“Come on. Let’s go find the real ones.”

I didn’t see the look on his face as I walked away.

I didn’t see the confusion. The frustration.

I just saw my own disappointment.

I wanted a fight. I wanted drama. I wanted betrayal.

And all I got was a puppet show.

“Ryuuji.”

Leo called out.

I stopped. I turned back.

“Yeah.”

“You really are… something else.”

He sounded exhausted.

“Thanks. I try.”

I flashed him a thumbs up.

“Now let’s go get some lunch. Plotting revenge makes me hungry.”

I walked out of the ruins.

The sun was still too bright. The birds were still too loud.

But at least I had my villain. Even if he was a bit of a drama queen.

We would get there. Eventually.

I just had to be patient.

And maybe teach him how to write better dialogue for his imaginary friends.

Like a stain on a good carpet.

I chuckled.

Yeah. I was keeping that one.