Hunter x Hunter.
The chess piece hovered at the tip of his finger. Komugi keenly noticed that the King's movement had stalled for a moment. She tilted her head slightly, her empty eyes "looking" in the King's direction.
"King…?"
The King did not respond. He was recalling the demon figure that had only appeared for a few dozen seconds on the Celestial Screen — Ifrit spreading both arms wide, his endless flames echoing with a frenzied hymn of praise for [Destruction] Nanook.
"Interesting." The King suddenly spoke, the corner of his mouth curving upward. "Clearly having never received the gaze of a god, yet still regarding Destruction as faith and walking His path. This purity… is worthy of praise."
Pouf knelt at the entrance of the palace, his butterfly wings trembling uneasily. "But, King, such an irrational declaration of war—"
A sharp explosive sound suddenly erupted in the air!
The King's tail lashed out like a steel whip across Pouf's face, sending him tumbling to the ground.
"Do I need you to tell me what rationality is? Do you think I cannot distinguish it myself?" The King's voice was like an ice spike soaked in venom, piercing deep into Pouf's heart.
"…Y-Yes, this subordinate has overstepped! My King." Pouf trembled as he crawled up. Intense pain and overwhelming self-blame swept over him like a tsunami.
What a majestic King! Yet he had dared to question the King's judgment. How utterly foolish!
"Someone like me… do I really deserve to stay by the King's side?" Pouf fell into deep self-doubt.
The King finally returned his gaze to the chessboard. The piece he held finally landed. "Remember, what I want are sharp blades that can fully carry out my will, not mediocre talents who obsess over right and wrong all day. Understood?"
Pouf lay limp on the ground, gazing obsessively at the King's back as he refocused on the game. "As you command… King."
——
[Ratio invited Stelle to investigate together, while Asta and the others stayed behind to control the public opinion situation.]
[They found Arlan and obtained from him a list of the missing crew members along with their detailed information. He handed it to Stelle without even looking at it. "Take it. Remember these names, then find a well-informed friend and say you want to know their contacts."]
[Stelle looked at him doubtfully. "Any leads?"]
[Ratio shrugged. "I don't know. That depends on your friend."]
[Stelle had no choice but to hand the list to Pamela, the space station's resident gossip lover. She continued discussing the follow-up matters with Arlan. When Ratio mentioned wanting to meet Mr. Adler, Arlan said that a few system hours ago, he had also disappeared.]
[The last time he was seen was in the Master Control Cabin Segment, together with Wen Shiling.]
["Lead the way. You said this Adler seemed to have some clues but didn't have time to say them. If his disappearance is also related to the attack — I'm afraid he really realized something."]
[Stelle recalled that what had inspired Adler back then was an energy life form. Duke Inferno was also an elemental life form. The two might have something in common.]
[She contacted Dan Heng and asked him to investigate detailed information about Duke Inferno. She needed more intelligence.]
——
Fate.
The dining table at the Emiya residence was filled with steaming hot dishes. Saber was focused on bringing curry rice to her mouth, looking thoroughly satisfied and content. Meanwhile, Rin Tohsaka rested her chin on her hand, staring at Professor Ratio's sharp profile on the Celestial Screen.
"What a strange person." She said thoughtfully. "His words are so aggressive, yet he willingly goes with Stelle to investigate such a dangerous disappearance case. He's the complete opposite of that Miss Ruan Mei."
"A foul-mouthed softie?" Emiya Shirou smiled. "Sounds like someone who loves lecturing others." As he spoke, he gave a meaningful glance at Archer sitting beside Rin.
Archer snorted coldly. "Don't lump me together with that scholar."
"Speaking of which… Saber, do you want to go see the galaxy?" Rin Tohsaka suddenly put down her chopsticks with an eager expression. "Go to the world in the Celestial Screen? Fighting mythical heroes from other civilizations sounds pretty fun, right?"
Saber's emerald eyes sparkled with anticipation. "I would really like to experience it personally, but without a Master over there, wouldn't it…"
"Saber, this is just hypothetical! Just hypothetical! I was just asking casually." Rin Tohsaka glanced at Archer beside her. "What about you? Do you want to go, Archer?"
"I refuse." Archer cut her off decisively. "Even if such an opportunity existed, I wouldn't go — not that it does. Rather than satisfying the young lady's curiosity, I think my own safety is more important."
"Tch—" Rin Tohsaka huffed, her tsundere attitude practically floating out the Emiya residence windows. "I'm not looking forward to your battles at all."
——
[The two found Wen Shiling, who was crying bitterly over Chandler's disappearance. She said that recently he had been obsessively researching things like spontaneous human combustion and paranormal phenomena, and had become increasingly strange and muttering to himself.]
["What did he say?" Ratio suddenly asked.]
[Wen Shiling suddenly remembered and blinked. "S-Something about a fragrance!"]
["Fragrance…" Ratio repeated thoughtfully.]
[Wen Shiling handed them a small booklet, saying it was the last thing he had been reading before disappearing.]
[Just then, Pamela also sent Stelle a message, saying she had gotten a subtle result regarding the missing persons' contacts. These people really had no intersections in interpersonal relationships, but they had all posted radical statements against the management on the dark web, and they had many supporters.]
["Looking at your expression, it doesn't seem like good news."]
[After relaying Pamela's findings to Ratio, he gave a meaningful "Oh." "The missing crew members were opinion leaders denouncing the management. That's quite thought-provoking."]
["While you were replying to the message, I also finished reading this booklet. It records the biographies of several Genius Society members — with quite a few interesting pieces of information."]
[He felt it was time to go back and have a chat with Asta and Mr. Screwllum.]
[On the way back, Dan Heng also sent Stelle the information he had gathered, saying that this Duke Inferno was no simple character. His flame properties were special even among the fire demons of Tepit. Based on eyewitness investigations, Dan Heng speculated that the Duke's flames inherited some ability related to his origin, beyond just burning.]
[His flames were difficult to capture because they constantly shuttled between phases.]
["Phase shuttling…" Stelle felt these four words were somewhat familiar, but she couldn't recall why for the moment.]