The Infinite Library!
Infinite Library! We took the Tower Elevator and arrived on the 4th floor, Lazesta Continent.
"Ugh, feels like I'm riding this thing way too often lately." I stretched my stiff body this way and that. These days, just taking the elevator up felt like heading off on an overseas trip. If I had to pin it down, I guess you could say I was here on a business trip.
"Haa." Beloah already looked depressed. Her shoulders slumped, probably because she didn't have much time left before returning to the library. It was exactly the vibe of a soldier coming back from leave, dreading the return to base.
Telimen agent, who'd been watching the entrance, grabbed Beloah's bag and got ready to move. "I've got a car waiting over there. Let's head out right away."
"...A car?" The drunken dwarf from last time flashed in my mind. He'd said dwarves were the only ones who drove cars on Lazesta Continent, which meant handing my life over to another drunk driver.
"Do we have to take that? Dwarves all drive drunk, you know." I made eye contact with the dwarf puffing on a pipe by the car, waved hello, then added, "Look at him. Already smells like his brain's pickled."
"No need to worry. And don't we need to get to Arachino fast?"
"Well... yeah, true."
In the end, I climbed into the drunk-driving car again. After loading Beloah's massive bag into the trunk, we settled into the back seat.
"Heh, off we go." The dwarf gripped the wheel, humming as he started driving. The Telimen agent kept glancing at us in the rearview mirror the whole way.
"Beloah, is going back to the library really that bad?"
"I hate it... but I have to."
She fiddled with her collar, looking conflicted. She'd stuffed all her light novels into the bag, leaving just her usual massive tome clutched to her chest.
"Even if Arachino finds out that radio's fake, what if he doesn't give up?"
"Arachino... he'll give up. He's got this different streak, but deep down, he's a good kid who wants to help people."
"I get that you believe in him, but good kids don't become necromancers or steal the deceased's belongings at funerals."
I subtly chided her about Gellawind's fountain pen incident, and she awkwardly scratched at the book cover with her nails.
"That was... his way of paying respects. So he'd never forget the dead... Not that I can defend it."
To never forget the dead. It didn't sound like the mindset of a necromancer—it was more like he'd become one because he thought that way.
The car soon hit a mountain road. It bounced hard on the unpaved path, but Beloah peered out the window and smiled faintly.
"Whoa, it's been forever since I was here. Back during academy break, I came to this valley with the Abyss Research Club members."
"You did stuff like that too?"
"First and last time I hung out with friends."
"..."
"Kinda stupid, huh? Shouldn't have graduated early... Never made friends. Wanted to go on one of those school trips from the books."
As Beloah grumbled, the car came to an early stop.
Thud! The wheels crunched over rocks and went quiet. The engine idled down. All around was birdsong and the rush of cool river water.
Click. And the sound of a chamber loading.
The Telimen agent twisted around from the passenger seat, pistol in hand. The barrel aimed squarely at Beloah's forehead—
Bang!
No hesitation. The trigger pulled, and blood sprayed. Beloah's upper body slumped forward limply.
"Mages die to bullets just like anyone else."
The dwarf cackled. He yanked the keys from the ignition to prevent any surprises. The agent's barrel swung to me next. Expressionless, he pressed it to my forehead. The heat from the hole it'd punched in Beloah's skull hadn't cooled yet—it singed my brow a bit.
"You're not surprised."
I gave a wry smile at the agent's question. "Surprised at how quick you moved. Didn't think you'd shoot Beloah like that."
"Infinite Library Beloah. Not well-known, but I know she's one of those once-in-a-century geniuses."
"..."
"Still, a bullet through the brain kills anyone. Right?"
"Couldn't place your accent at first, but Cyber City, huh?"
Hearing him claim pulling a trigger beat magic clicked it into place.
The agent shoved the barrel harder, annoyed by my chatter. The heat faded, leaving the cold steel bite of the gun against my skin.
"We want one thing from here on. Accept it, and you live. Refuse, and you die here."
"Spit it out. I wanna live too."
"Use Law."
"..."
No answer, so he jammed the barrel again, my head thunking back against the headrest.
"Only reason we're keeping you alive. But if you use Law, no reason to anymore."
"Outlived your usefulness?"
"Exactly."
I sighed. "Craving a smoke."
"No more bullshit."
"Hey, you think Law has just one or two articles?"
"..."
I shrugged, and tension eased from the barrel. Didn't expect that question? Or maybe he didn't know the details.
"Ahem, hold on." The dwarf pulled a brick-sized receiver from the glovebox, plugged in earphones, and stared into space, getting orders.
"Man, this wait's boring. Mind if I smoke? On the way—"
"Shut it."
Son of a bitch. Just wanted to try that classic line once.
Orders received, the dwarf yanked out his earphones. "Article 5, Paragraph 1. Existence Dispersion."
"...You know what that does?"
Click! The barrel shoved hard again. Purpose clear, the agent regained his edge.
"Do it."
"Using that broadcasts I'm alive. Someone terrifying comes down."
"That's what we want, 7th Floor boy."
"Not hiding it? Only Tower Management Bureau chiefs know that."
"No need."
"Tch." I clicked my tongue, locking eyes with Telimen. These weren't Yeoeumhoe. Just their tools. The ones who'd wanted inter-floor war all along. Azure Dragon's 3rd Floor descent, the Seonryeong assassination, unsealing Demon Arhellak. Eyes bloodshot with twisted madness they called conviction.
"Remember what you said earlier?"
"Cut the crap—"
"'Mages die to bullets just like anyone else.'"
Time froze. They got it—their eyes flicked to slumped Beloah—
"Think you got it wrong."
I grinned as Beloah bolted up, yelling, "It huuuurts!"
Her tome fluttered open like pages in the wind, flipping endlessly. Golden runes exploded out, flooding the car like a deluge. Not mere letters—knowledge. It crushed them under its weight.
Bang! Telimen reflexively fired, but no bullet came. Runes had jammed the barrel solid.
"Guh?!"
"Urk!?"
Swept in the golden wave, untouched, I watched. Like a Cyber City VR hologram—vivid, but zero effect on me. Just the faint musty scent of old books.
"It huuuurts! Hurts so muuuch!"
Beloah rubbed her forehead, sobbing. The bullet that pierced it now lay on the seat, pushed out by new flesh.
Infinite Library Beloah. The girl who paid knowledge's price. She couldn't die just because someone wished it. Not while the library stood.
I knew because the Bimu Takhon list had clued me in on her strength.
"Huff on it! Huff!"
"That gonna help?"
"Huff, pleeease!"
The golden words suddenly weighed heavy on me too, so I huffed on her forehead. Her tear-streaked face eased a bit, like it actually worked.
"Ugh, shouldn't have tagged along."
As she sniffled, the runes receded. The two up front started coming to. No spell—just opening a book—yet total disaster. Telimen frantically aimed again—
Thud! The door flew open. A thick hand yanked him out. Dull thuds followed.
Wham! Thump!
A 200kg fist smashed his face. Outside, Kim Dukgu stood in his black Prism merch hoodie.
"Dukgu!"
"Juseon! What the hell?"
Dukgu, who'd KO'd Telimen in one, looked flustered. I quickly explained.
"Those bastards unsealed the demon!"
Crack! Another iron-fist haymaker to the unconscious Telimen.
That's gotta kill. Is he stronger now than as a holy knight?