The Pure White Shell

A holy-looking light. The Pure White Shell. From those two words, a single keyword surfaced in my mind.

"The Saint?"

Right. This was the full story of the vampire incident I'd heard from the nun in the previous loop. Secrem had known this city was a cultist city and had carried out her scheme accordingly. Along the way, a saint had appeared among those cultists, and according to the nun, such a saint was an extremely precious meal for vampires. Turning someone with the faith of a saint into a vampire granted tremendous power.

Anyway, in the previous loop, Secrem had turned that saint into a vampire... and for some reason, that vampire-saint had been possessed by Geun-hong, and with all her followers turned into ghouls and vampires, she had become a vampire angel, causing that whole mess.

In any case, perhaps the white light pouring out down there was exactly the Pure White Shell the girl had mentioned, and its true identity might be the remains of the cultist saint.

Normalizing my Reality Recognition Value with the saint's remains?

"There's a good chance."

It all fit together perfectly. I'd completely forgotten about the existence of this cultist saint, and now it was resolving itself like this.

Anyway, I knew my destination now. There was no need to dangerously enter the building and climb to the upper floors. I had no desire to encounter those insane thin monsters. One way or another, I had to head toward that pillar of light.

I moved again, searching for cover. As I approached—

—Uuuuuuuu.

A bizarre sound. Something was flying through the sky.

"Huh?"

It was a strange shape. It looked like a massive bird, yet also like a dragon. How large was it? Dozens—no, hundreds of meters? Even just its writhing wings were overwhelmingly huge... I couldn't tell whether the thing on that bizarre bearded beak was a head, an eye, or a brain...

It circled the pillar of light as it flew through the sky.

Why did this message appear now, when it hadn't for the Black Hounds or the thin monsters?

"Hup!"

Just seeing it raised my Reality Recognition Value?! The urge to gouge out my own eyes surged up as more messages appeared in succession.

An offering? The way it was circling the pillar of light... was it here to eat the Pure White Shell?

This was insane! Did I have to compete with that crazy monster too?

Just thinking about it made my hands and feet tremble. Overwhelming unfairness. Nothing ever went smoothly. I'd thought I could finally get my hands on the shell, and now some insane dragon shows up.

I considered retreating. Maybe that dragon would keep raising my Reality Recognition Value. Then I'd come to remove one tumor only to gain another.

"..."

I stared at the dragon a little longer while thinking that... but nothing happened. Maybe it only increased the first time?

"I can't give up here."

The dragon was flying high in the sky. The Pure White Shell was on the ground somewhere, shooting a pillar of light toward the heavens. In terms of distance, I had the advantage being on the ground. I'd watch its reactions and try to secure the shell somehow. If the shell registered as an item, I could just toss it straight into my inventory. Then the pillar of light would disappear too. That would mean the dragon had lost its target.

With that thought, I ran and turned a corner.

At that moment—

—Saaaaa.

A sudden chill. I turned my head.

"Ah...!"

A very familiar sight. A black woman was approaching.

—Drip.

A black body that looked as if it were made of latex. Bright red eyes floated ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠chaotically all over that body, and thorns sprouted simultaneously. Yes. The bizarre black figure before me was none other than Spandal, whom I'd seen multiple times in the Bureau's underground.

...Which one was her true essence? I pondered it briefly, but ultimately decided it didn't matter. Whatever her essence was, she was still Spandal.

Why was that? Even in this insane world, even though this insane world had shown me the monster that had killed me multiple times in the Bureau's underground, I didn't feel fear or terror. Instead, I felt courage.

Spandal's image came to mind. My Spandal, with her long hair.

'Don't forget me...'

How could I ever forget those final words?

—Shaaaak.

The monstrous Spandal approaching me vanished. I knew this technique. She was trying to move behind me through the shadows.

The moment I pulled out my grimoire and turned around—

—Twitch!

The monstrous Spandal, who had just been about to emerge from the shadows, flinched and retreated back into the shadows.

"Senior Spandal. Do you know about grimoires?"

Bureau agents might not know about Reality Recognition Value, but they couldn't possibly be ignorant of sorcerers operating in the shadows of the world. She'd decided to retreat the moment she saw my grimoire.

"It was nice meeting you."

My mind, once filled with fear of the unknown, cleared. It seemed strange that just seeing her face could do this, but in the end, everything depended on one's mindset.

I moved quickly. The Bureau had become aware of the sorcerer's existence. They'd try to analyze the situation first. I didn't know what would happen after that, but if they didn't move immediately, I'd bought myself time. That was to my advantage.

The pillar of light grew closer. But when I turned the corner—

"W-what the—!"

"Shoot!"

—Tatatatatang!

Bullets suddenly flew, and I threw myself to the ground. Fake Bureau agents? I ran to the other side of the wall and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠checked the direction the shots had come from.

"What...?"

There were men in black suits wearing sunglasses. What? Why? Why were they still human? Weren't people supposed to appear as gray-skinned beings with black holes in their faces? Why did the Fake Bureau agents still look human?

"..."

I couldn't understand it. It was confusing. But that wasn't important right now.

—Slide.

I pulled out my grimoire again. Then I deliberately exposed myself.

"Hup!"

"T-that bastard! He's holding a book!"

"Is that a grimoire?!"

As expected, these bastards recognized it too. I could feel them panicking and becoming wary of me. They immediately reported via radio. Something about a sorcerer appearing.

"Retreat!"

Then they withdrew.

"They're extremely wary of me."

It seemed both Bureaus were extremely cautious of sorcerers. This was information I hadn't heard when I was an agent—probably because I never had the opportunity. If I hadn't been purged by Jamtree and had continued on, I might have learned it.

"Good."

Anyway, this had worked out nicely. With both Bureaus temporarily retreating, I could use this lull to secure the Pure White Shell. The dragon in the sky was unsettling, but it was still maintaining altitude high above, merely circling the pillar of light. Was it like some deep-sea creature drawn to light? As long as it didn't suddenly dive and attack me, I should be able to secure the shell without issue.

—Flash!

I ran boldly. No bullets came flying while I ran. But I kept my guard up as I moved, getting closer to the pillar of light.

The pillar was rising from the community center building ahead. There didn't seem to be a hole in the roof—did the pillar originating from inside pass through the building? Whatever the case, my target was in there.

The moment I boldly tried to enter—

—Uuuuuuuu!

A deafening roar shook the sky. With an explosion like thunder, the dragon dove sharply!

A split-second decision. Any clumsy movement would mean death. The moment I heard the sound, I assessed the situation and threw myself aside. I fled as far as possible and looked back.

A massive, hideously shaped dragon had just swept through where I'd been standing. Mysteriously, despite that hundreds-of-meters-tall monster falling like lightning, the buildings suffered no damage whatsoever. No—it hadn't even collided with them. It had simply glided through the air with movements that defied the laws of physics, plummeting like an arrow before soaring upward again as if ascending.

"..."

Maybe what it wanted wasn't the Pure White Shell after all... but sorcerers like me who were approaching the shell?

The dragon that had risen into the sky swam leisurely around the pillar of light. I knew instinctively. If I approached the community center, it would dive again to catch and eat me. Calculating its speed and accuracy... it was razor-thin. I'd be pecked to death before I could even enter the building.

Entering the building was a problem too. I'd be screwed when I tried to come back out.

"What do I do?"

Should I prepare to die a few times and trust in luck? If I just ran, I might find a way through somehow.

"Wait."

Hadn't a hint appeared earlier?

Right, that bastard definitely wanted an offering. In that case, the sealed meat I had might be useful. I'd originally thought of it as some kind of offering or tribute anyway. If my guess was correct, it might work.

Let's try it! I couldn't back down now, and if I wasted time, the Bureau would ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠get involved again. This was my only chance. So I had no choice but to roll the dice.

—Flash!

With my concentration at its absolute peak, I sprinted toward the community center.

—Uuuuuuuu!

The monster's roar. The thunderous sound that followed immediately after. The dragon that had risen high into the sky dove sharply, its beak thrust forward like a spearhead.

At the same time—

—Flash!

I pulled the sealed meat from my inventory!

"This! Eat this!"

I threw the meat with all my strength. Would that beak pierce my crown? Or would it change direction?

In that split second—

—Kwa-ga-ga-ga-gang!

With a thunderous roar, the dragon descended. It snatched the meat with its beak and soared upward again!

"Holy shit, that actually worked!"

—Kwang!

I burst through the community center door with a body slam and rushed inside.

"Huff, huff!"

Gripping my pistol, I quickly scanned the interior. It would be troublesome if there were monsters inside. That's what I thought, but fortunately there were none. With that dragon roaming around outside, there was no way ordinary monsters would be here. The only thing present was the white radiance pouring out!

That's it!

"Ah!"

I ran clumsily toward the light.

"Is this it?"

It was literally... the 'Pure White Shell'. A human-shaped figure with only the shell remaining, bleached white and emitting light. Was this really the remains of the cultist saint? Had they died in this chaos ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and left only this shell behind?

Of course, this sight was only visible because my Reality Recognition Value had increased. I reached out my hand.

For now, I secured it and put it in my inventory. The girl had said this would normalize my value. Of course, I didn't know how. I'd have to figure out the usage myself. I couldn't experiment here, so first I needed to escape and get somewhere safe.

With that thought, I carefully exited the community center. The dragon in the sky had disappeared. Had it been satisfied after eating the offering? Still, I had to be careful since I didn't know when it might ambush me.

Thinking that, I kicked off the ground—

—Rustle.

Suddenly, a woman with mysterious blue hair appeared, wearing a hood and robe like some evil sorcerer. I could tell she was a woman from the curves of her tight robe. Her eyes were hidden beneath the hood. Those red lips looked like they were about to say something.

This was dangerous. If she chanted a spell, I'd die. Thinking that, I aimed my pistol at the same time—

—Flash!

Unexpectedly, the woman prostrated herself before me in a deep bow.

"O great sorcerer! This humble junior greets the senior!"

What?