163: Chapter 163 The murderer is...
Hearing this tragic confession, the viewers who had been spamming the live stream and calling for him to be hacked into a thousand pieces suddenly fell silent.
"A hateful person must have a pitiful side."
"Sigh, in the end, he's just a tragic character whose desires were amplified by Shinjuku's magical energy."
"Even though what he did is unforgivable, seeing him look so lucid after his mask shattered... I suddenly feel a bit sad."
PD's clenched fists also slowly relaxed.
He let out a sigh, suppressed the inexplicably complex emotions in his heart, and asked in a deep voice:
"Since you're lucid now, take some action to atone for your sins. Tell me, who forcibly stitched you Phantasms together? What is the conspiracy of the ruler behind you?"
"As a thank-you for interrupting this ugly performance, I will naturally tell you everything I know."
The Phantom of the Opera gasped weakly, his voice growing fainter. "The one ruling this Shinjuku is an organization called the 'Phantom Demon Alliance'."
"In this alliance, aside from that nameless Archer who is secretive and completely unpredictable... the rest of us members are all Phantasms driven by intense [Desire]."
Hearing this, the Shinjuku Archer, who had been standing silently in the back listening, had a slight flicker in his eyes.
Meanwhile, PD immediately perked up his ears; this was core information critical to the subsequent progression!
"My desire was to receive the world's [Appreciation] and attention. Unfortunately, I used the wrong method."
The Phantom of the Opera gave a self-mocking laugh and continued, "And that Rider (Headless Knight) who wanders the streets on a giant wolf—his desire is pure [Revenge]. He wants to collect that blood debt from all of humanity."
"As for that elusive Assassin... his desire is the pursuit of ultimate [Prosperity]."
"Appreciation, Revenge, Prosperity..."
PD silently repeated these three words in his mind, quickly piecing together the behavioral logic of these bosses. "Then what about the leader of your alliance? The guy who summoned you—what is his desire?"
Hearing this question, a rare look of fear and confusion appeared on the Phantom of the Opera's pale face.
"That is the most hair-raising part."
His lips trembled, and his voice sounded as if it were drifting up from the depths of hell. "That leader, whom we honor as 'The Professor', always wears a perfect smile, as if everything is under his control. But none of us can see through what his true desire actually is."
"He is like an abyss, a monster that commits crimes purely for the sake of crime."
The Phantom of the Opera took a deep breath, seemingly trying to use his last ounce of strength to reveal that deepest secret. "However, during a previous meeting, I occasionally sensed a fluctuation deep within his spirit origin. In my view, the core desire of his perfect plan is actually..."
At the very moment this shocking secret was about to be blurted out...
A sudden change occurred!
BANG—!!!
A dull and highly penetrating gunshot rang out without warning from the VIP box on the second floor of the theater!
It wasn't the sound of an ordinary gunpowder firearm, but a special roar mixed with violent magical energy fluctuations.
A specially-made bullet shimmering with dark red magical light, like a meteor tearing through the night sky, pierced through the Phantom of the Opera's back with terrifying kinetic energy far exceeding the speed of sound!
Splat! Blood splattered everywhere.
That bullet not only instantly shattered the Phantom of the Opera's heart but also exploded with intense destructive magic the moment it touched his spirit origin, directly shredding his already flickering spiritual core.
"Ah..."
The Phantom of the Opera's pupils suddenly dilated, and his words came to an abrupt halt.
He didn't even have the strength to turn his head, only managing to let out one last, barely audible sigh: "Christine..."
Along with that murmur, his body turned into countless golden particles of light, completely dissipating in the empty hall.
"Who's there?!"
PD was pale with shock, instinctively leaping back to find cover.
Saber Alter and Jeanne dArc Alter reacted even faster, flanking their Master to protect him, their murderous eyes locked onto the dark VIP box on the second floor.
To be able to complete such a precise and lethal long-range assassination right in front of two top-tier combatants, the newcomer's strength was definitely not to be underestimated!
The viewers in the live stream were also startled by this sudden turn of events.
"Holy crap! A sniper?!"
"So close! The leader's secret was just one word away from being revealed! He was actually silenced!"
"That gunshot... those dark red magical bullets! Could it be?!"
Some lore-heavy players sensitive to the setting suddenly had an incredible guess flash through their minds.
Under the gaze of countless wary eyes.
From the shadows of the second-floor VIP box, the heavy sound of leather boots treading on wooden floorboards slowly drifted out.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
A tall, lean figure stepped slowly out of the shadows, exposed to the dim light of the hall.
It was a man with short white hair and a sickly, dark-colored complexion.
His upper body wore only a damaged black sleeveless tight vest, revealing rock-hard, dark muscles on his torso and arms. In his hands, he held two exaggeratedly styled, specially modified pistols engraved with magic circuits.
On his skin, golden magic circuits that looked like cracks emitted a dangerous faint light.
And at the corner of his mouth, there was always a cold, cruel, mocking sneer, as if he had seen through all the hypocrisy in the world.
"A chattering stray dog talks far too much."
The man spun the dual pistols in his hands, the smoke from the muzzles slowly dissipating in the air.
His pair of sharp, hawk-like golden eyes looked down condescendingly at PD and the others, his voice as cold as a Siberian winter wind:
"It seems I arrived just in time."
The moment they saw this man's face clearly, the bullet chat section of the entire live stream exploded as if a nuclear bomb had been dropped!
"Holy shit holy shit holy shit!!! Black Red Archer!!!"
"It's Emiya! That hairstyle, that skin color! It's definitely Young Hero Emiya!"
"How did Red Archer end up looking like this?! Not only is he blackened, but even his signature twin blades have been replaced with dual pistols?!"
"This pressure is too terrifying! Old Thief Gu actually turned the 'Ally of Justice' completely dark!"
Hiding behind cover, PD looked at the familiar figure on the second floor emitting a suffocating murderous intent, and cold sweat instantly soaked his back.
He recognized this man. Not long ago, that mysterious person calling himself 'The Count' had called and warned them—it was precisely this cold-blooded killer known as 'Emiya Alter' who had led a large force and driven Jeanne dArc Alter into a corner!
Now, this cold-blooded killer had finally come knocking in person.
"This is a big problem..." PD swallowed hard, staring fixedly at the Black Red Archer on the second floor, his brain frantically calculating the next tactic.
A tough battle, far more cruel than facing the Phantom of the Opera, was about to break out in this theater ruin filled with the smell of gunpowder!