How to Destroy the Castle
He peered into the second book (8) clutched in his hand.
How to Destroy the Castle
Flutterflutterflutter—!
As he gazed at the cover, the pages began flipping on their own.
"Hmmm…."
At some point, the rapidly turning pages came to a halt.
His eyes narrowed as he looked down at the worn paper.
The letters writhed across the page like a swarm of crawling insects. A grotesque sight.
The letters scattered cautiously, as if gauging his reaction, then meshed together like gears, forming an intricate black-and-white illustration.
[The king has gone mad.]
[It was the ominous prelude heralding the end of what seemed an eternal, glorious kingdom.]
The image on the paper came alive, moving before his eyes.
Fertile lands, winding castle walls, and a majestic palace piercing the heavens. In front of bustling streets, a black-and-white elder stared piercingly through the book at him, lips moving.
[The loyal king's knights stood by his side until the end.]
[The arrogant mages, steeped in hubris, lingered in the palace solely for their intellectual amusements.]
With a gesture from the elder, the black ink rippled, transforming the scene.
Noble knights in gleaming plate armor contrasted with ragged-robed mages whose eyes gleamed with madness, flashing by in a panorama.
[Arrogant souls who couldn't abandon their nature, yet their wisdom was undeniable. Their forbidden research became a brief beacon restoring the king's sanity.]
Scraaaape—
The letters receded like an ebbing tide, drawing a tall man seated on the throne. Unlike his ornate crown, his unfocused eyes betrayed a shattered mind.
[Watching the king's back as he gradually recovered, I felt relieved. I dreamed of the crumbling kingdom reborn in splendor.]
In that instant, the peaceful backdrop evaporated, leaving only the despairing elder on the page.
[But the curse came abruptly.]
The elder waved his hand again, and letters from the facing page swarmed wildly, carving a new scene.
The finished image was worlds apart. Crumbled walls, collapsed halls. On streets once blooming with laughter, a colossal monster devoured people alive.
[All humans in the castle lost their essence. Loyal knights became soulless walking armor. Learned mages devolved into grimoires. Only two remained: me, and the king.]
The elder impassively watched a citizen chewed alive by the monster, then shifted the backdrop. A familiar place: ornate decorations, red carpet lining the castle corridor.
[Proud knights, even soulless, patrolled the castle, slaughtering intruders coveting the king's treasures.]
Next, a space resembling the library he was in materialized on the page.
[The most fatal issue was the mages turned grimoires. Rejecting all life, they spewed corrupted mystery, plaguing the castle. In the end, I designated them forbidden books and sealed them deep in the library.]
[But disposing of the grimoires unleashed an unstoppable catastrophe. The one being they suppressed: my mad king.]
Brrrrr—
A faint tremor from the book vibrated through his palm, as if the terror beyond the paper had transferred as vibration.
[With the grimoires gone, the king rampaged madly, destroying all he'd built. Having witnessed his devotion to the kingdom up close, his downfall tore at my heart like a vivisection.]
"The intro's too long."
He had little interest in this place's past. He wished it'd get to the point. But the elder's mouth continued with unwanted tales.
Brrrr—
As if understanding his wish, a vibration tingled his fingertips, and the pages flipped automatically.
Flutterflutterflutter—!
The racing pages stopped at one spot.
[…How to destroy the castle is simple. Kill the king.]
Snap!
With those words, the book slammed shut forcibly.
"…So where's the king?"
A sensible skip, but it skipped the important part.
"…Won't open."
He tried reopening it, but it wouldn't budge. As he pondered how to open it again, How to Destroy the Castle began melting away.
…There were plenty of other books. Maybe the info he wanted would turn up if he read more.
As he reached for the next book with that thought, the lantern at his waist trembled violently and floated into the air. Hovering before his eyes, it shook as if urging him to follow.
"You know where he is?"
Shake shake.
It nodded eagerly, as if confirming.
He decided to trust it once.
"Let's go."
He'd gained a new weapon too. No way he'd lose to some overlooked king. If it got dicey, he had bait to sacrifice.
"Stay put."
He approached the necromancer slumped in the corner and seized his throat.
Gack gack.
The guy thrashed in agony but couldn't escape his grip.
"You're gonna die soon! In my life, I've seen countless mages, but never one heading to a grimoire's origin and living!"
"Shut up."
The talisman he'd slapped on the necromancer's chest earlier was still there. He could explode him anytime. Yet the guy kept cursing him.
"Die die die die die—"
"Shut up or you die."
A useless guy who didn't even know the other mages' locations. He was keeping him alive for the mission, but killing him now wouldn't matter much.
Won't dock my pay for killing him, right?
Just in case, he'd try to drag him back alive.
Whether his warning worked or not, he dragged the shriveled necromancer toward the library exit.
But one problem arose.
As he reached for the closed door, floating books gathered to block his path.
"What."
Not particularly threatening. They weren't trying to trap him—just rubbing their worn covers against him like cats in heat, playfully obstructing his steps.
He could feel their reluctance to let him go.
But he needed to escape this place ASAP. Couldn't linger in such a dangerous spot.
"Don't get in my way."
He shoved them aside heartlessly.
At his cold words, the dozens clinging to him scampered back, trembling and bowing as if apologizing. A hollow voice came from the necromancer.
"Ha… Those arrogant, finicky forbidden books abandoning their pride to avoid the scorn of the human they so looked down on… You really must die die die die—"
"Shut up."
He smacked the back of the necromancer's glaring red-eyed head and stepped out of the library.
But something unexpected happened.
Flap flap.
As he dragged the necromancer down the corridor, the forbidden books began trailing cautiously behind.
Glance.
He turned and glared at them.
Noticing his gaze, the forbidden books flinched and darted behind a massive pillar. But no pillar could hide that many.
"…."
He had no clue what to do.
Doubtful they'd listen if he told them to go back.
Pretending not to notice, he kept moving.
Swish swish.
A sidelong glance back: the forbidden books flapped pages open and shut like they were thrilled, thinking they weren't spotted.
What, like elementary kids enjoying a sneaky tail?
As he walked, he pondered how to shake them. They might turn hostile anytime.
Bob bob.
He alternated glances between the guiding lantern ahead and the trailing books.
…Unnecessary worry?
No, constant suspicion was essential.
Complacency bred carelessness.
Grip.
He tensed his hand on the necromancer, ready to raise him as a shield if attacked from behind. The guy thrashed again in pain, but he ignored it.
Clank clank.
Suddenly, plate-armored figures appeared ahead in the corridor.
Spotting him, eerie glows flashed from their helmets.
"Come here."
He called the guiding lantern closer. The moment they entered range, he'd shred them with shadow jaws.
Cling! Cling!
The armors drew swords wreathed in dark energy. Battle-ready, they charged madly.
"Devour them…!"
As he commanded the lantern—
Flap! Flap! Flap!
Thousands of pages fluttered from behind, whipping up a chill wind.
He whipped around to the forbidden books. One golden-glowing book had pages splayed wide, condensing vast energy in its center like a vortex.
Finally showing their true colors? But the light-shrouded book targeted not him, but the charging knights.
Vreeeeee—!
The air screamed and quaked. Energy compressed to its limit erupted from the book's core as a beam of light.
KABOOOM—!!
The massive beam swept straight down the corridor. As the retina-searing brilliance faded, he stared ahead, mouth agape. The ferociously charging knights had vaporized without a scream or scrap of metal.
Jingle jangle.
The lantern in his hand shook roughly, as if snapping him out of it.
"…You just guide."
He released the lantern into the air and approached the laser-firing book.
Vree—
Its radiant gold dimmed like cooling metal, reverting to its rough brown cover.
Grab.
He took it in hand.
Flap!
It didn't resist the sudden touch. A pleasant vibration through his palm felt like a puppy's wagging tail begging for praise.
"Yeah, feels good, huh?"
He stroked its stiff cover gently, like soothing a child.
Flutter—!
Wherever his fingers touched, it flipped pages briskly in delight.
Looks kinda cute up close.
Bwooo.
The discarded lantern approached from behind.
And rubbed against his back, as if asking why the sudden cold shoulder.
Tsk.
His eyes narrowed at its antics.
"You guide."
Woooong!
"What? 'Why discriminate?'"
He jerked his chin at the devastated corridor ahead.
"Can you do that?"
Woooong—!
It shook vigorously, insisting it could. He didn't buy it. The shadows from the lantern looked strong, but not laser-level destructive.
"Guide."
He dismissed its protest and sent it ahead. Now he held a new tool. The book vibrated happily at his touch.
Must be imagination, but it feels damp.
Thus, one hand on the necromancer, the other on the laser launcher, he followed the lantern.
They walked awhile. Strangely, no more enemies appeared. A bit disappointing—he wanted to test the laser.
Well, opportunity came soon enough.
"This the audience chamber door?"
He eyed the massive door adorned with ornate patterns. Slay the mad king beyond, and he'd escape the castle. But a problem.
"Kekekeke! Top-tier seal. No method'll breach it."
The necromancer started explaining again. He ignored him, aimed the book at the sturdy door.
"Even holy magic from a forbidden book won't work. That power can't break the seal, kekeke."
Long and short only mattered in comparison.
"Charge."
Mana swirled and condensed before the book. His own mana drained rapidly from his veins. The brown cover blazed gold, vibrating as it hit critical.
"Fire."
KUAAAAANG—!!
The golden beam lanced toward the door.
"…Insane."
Twice the size of the knight-vaporizing shot. The corridor flashed white with destructive force. The spectating necromancer gaped, frozen.
"Impossible… That holy magic aptitude? You a church archbishop or what?"
Different from before: his mana mixed in during charge. The only difference he could think of, though uncertain.
"Let's go in."
Dust cleared, revealing the shattered door—with a Siwoo-sized hole.
Fwoosh—
He relit the lantern and peered into the darkened audience chamber. Vast and chill, with a familiar back in the center.
"Juharin?"
Purple-haired, eyes closed.
Her disheveled purple locks framed a trembling form with eyes squeezed shut. Beside her loomed a ghostly figure: pallid blue skin, grotesquely elongated limbs.
A monster beyond human.
His gaze fixed on the ornate, glowing crown askew on its head.
That instant.
The monster's unfocused eyes under the crown locked straight onto his.
"Siwoo?! Close your eyes! Don't look at it!!"
Juharin warned, sensing his presence.
But too late.
With a eardrum-shattering screech, the bloodshot-eyed monster leaped on all fours like a beast, charging at him.