Chapter 210
Chapter 210
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 210
Chapter Title: The Truth of Heaven (4)
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“I don’t understand. Why make a deal like this? I know the manager of Ingris can’t interfere in the affairs of Heaven. But you follow the law too. Selling lifespan to a heretic can’t be part of your normal duties.”
The manager blinked blankly.
“You’re very direct. People usually know about these things but pretend they don’t. Anyway, fine. I was put in charge of the Ingris library because I have the ability to acquire concepts. For tens of thousands of years. What do you think that means? It means I can’t do anything here. That’s why I need words. If I’m to escape this place.”
It was an absurd story. But theoretically, it wasn't impossible.
The Mara’s lifespan was likely close to eternal. He didn’t know how much she had left, but if she kept collecting words, she would eventually reach her goal.
“So you’re trying to become the Akashic Records yourself.”
“Hee hee! Exactly! While controlling the information here, I had a realization. That I could become a god, too. But one thing was missing! I erased only the information on how to leave this place. I need to fill that gap! That's why heretics are my primary customers. If I can just get out of here, I’ll become even greater than Ra!”
Harvest spoke through the mental channel.
-Canis, this woman is dangerous.
In Canis’s opinion, she was a little unhinged.
She might one day collect enough words to complete the Akashic Records, but no one knew when that would be.
Of course, he could understand her feelings.
If he himself had been stuck in a library for tens of thousands of years, he would have gone mad too.
A glint of madness began to seep from the manager’s eyes.
“Are you going to do it or not? You’ve been dragging your feet this whole time. Are you hiding some other motive?”
A bluish aura enveloped the Mara’s body. A powerful hostility was palpable.
If he didn’t make a deal, a fight was imminent. But could he win? If he died here, his friends' efforts would be in vain.
-Canis, this is risky. You must be careful.
Canis now understood the risk.
The offer to extend one’s life by selling a single word was tempting to any human.
Honestly, when he first heard the offer, the first people who came to mind were himself and Arin.
If their lifespans were extended to 300 years, what more could they ask for in the world?
But they hadn’t done it.
The Unlockers who came here 200 years ago had, as per the contract, extended Kadum’s life and returned to their own world.
The reason was simple.
They had to reveal their names.
The reason Canis hadn’t gambled his own lifespan was the same.
Was it really safe to tell his name to the Mara who could control all information?
If she learned the word ‘Canis,’ there was no telling what demands the half-crazed Mara might make.
-I know. But I can’t stall forever. I need to disable the Mecha System, too.
As Canis remained silent, the manager's face twisted into a monstrous grimace.
She was on the verge of erupting.
‘A direct confrontation is disadvantageous, even against a One-Horned Mara. I have no choice but to buy time by making a contract.’
Handing over a single word didn't seem like it would cause a serious problem.
But the ones who came 200 years ago had clearly said it wasn't a profitable trade.
Considering that the historian’s bias is inevitably woven into history, it meant they had suffered an enormous loss.
‘In any case, they made a contract. That much is certain. What on earth happens when you sell a word?’
Canis tried to imagine the situation from 200 years ago. Nothing came to mind.
Then, a thought flashed through his mind. If his master had also come to Ingris, what choice would he have made?
‘I see! That was it!’
Canis gave his orders.
-I'll buy some time. You find the panel with the serial number from the memo. There should be something written on it.
-What for? Even if it's a way to strengthen dark magic, we can't do anything about it right now.
-No. My master must have known there was a manager in Ingris. The fact that he only left a serial number means it might not be what we were looking for.
-I see. Alright. But the number is complex, so it’ll take some time to find.
Harvest, who had vanished into Canis's shadow, was absorbed into the darkness and slipped away to another location.
“Alright, I’ll make a deal.”
When Canis spoke as if giving up, the manager's face instantly brightened.
“Good thinking! So, who will it be? Shall I extend your lifespan?”
“No. It’s Kadum again this time.”
“Oh, is that so? I don’t know who that person is, but he’s quite fortunate.”
“Instead… this time, don’t extend it. Restore it to its original length. That should be possible for Ingris, right?”
The manager blinked, dumbfounded.
Countless people had asked to have their lives extended, but this was the first time someone had asked to have it reverted.
A wicked smile spread across her lips.
“This will be fun. Looks like something came up, huh?”
Canis returned the smile with one of his own.
Kadum, the chieftain of the Kergo, was starving his own people to death for his own eternal life. Canis, who knew the pain of starvation all too well, did not like him.
He was a man who had already lived 300 years longer on money extorted from his tribesmen.
He should consider himself lucky that Canis was only restoring his original lifespan instead of killing him on the spot.
“Good, good. I like things like this.”
The manager frantically tapped on the central control unit.
Canis pretended to be intrigued and watched what she was doing. He was a novice with machines, but observing now might be helpful later.
“There, it’s done. I’ve restored his lifespan to its original state. Of course, there’s some variance depending on the person. Everyone perceives time differently. Still, he probably won’t live long. Taking away 300 years brings him pretty close to his biological limit.”
“I don’t care. He’s lived long enough.”
“Hohoho! He’s lived a long time for a human. Now then…”
Canis flinched and stepped back. The look in the manager’s eyes had changed in an instant.
He had expected it to some degree, but seeing her mental state shift so drastically gave him chills. He could only hope Harvest would move a little faster.
“Contract complete! Now, shall we take a word?”
“Ugh!”
Feeling a headache, Canis winced. He didn't know what kind of power it was, but it was an Irregularity.
The problem was that it was a contract, not a price.
If an Irregularity was bound by a mutual contract, it didn’t violate the principle of equivalent exchange even if it couldn’t be canceled.
“Damn it! Wasn’t I supposed to choose the word?”
“Hahaha! Of course! I’m just getting a taste. Hmm? Not bad. Let’s see what words you have. Ah, this one is good. This one is good, too! I love them all so much, I could go crazy!”
Watching the manager shout with an ecstatic expression, Canis corrected his misconception.
She wasn't just a little unhinged. It was akin to the obsession seen in a nerd crazed about numbers.
-Harvest, are you still not there?
-Wait! I’ve found it up to the second entry.
The second serial number meant there was still a long way to go.
Canis thought of buying time with magic.
But his magic wouldn’t activate. Whenever he tried to form a concept, she would immediately erase it.
‘Damn it. So this is her power.’
The manager’s Irregularity, ‘The Mind’s Editorial Department,’ could freely edit the thoughts of anyone she had a contract with.
The ability the manager was using on Canis was called ‘Recommendation,’ which edited his thoughts and then proposed them to him.
He could exercise his veto to reclaim his original thoughts, but the brief moment of illogical thinking was fatal in combat.
“How is it? Are you disoriented? Eyes. Anger. Comrade. Focus. What else should I edit?”
“You bastard!”
Canis gritted his teeth, trying not to lose his train of thought. Every time a word was extracted, the associated linguistic structure collapsed, making it feel as if one side of his head had gone completely blank.
“Hahahaha! Do you get it now? How important a single word is? That man 200 years ago sold me the word ‘mosquito’! Said he hated them or something! Do you know what happened to him?”
-Harvest!
-I’ve almost found it! The last entry!
Canis couldn’t keep his senses straight.
Even if he exercised his veto, she deliberately scrambled his thoughts to the point where his consciousness was about to fade.
Seemingly satisfied, the manager grabbed Canis by the throat and lifted him up.
She looked frail, but the physical strength of a One-Horned Mara surpassed that of a Taboo.
“That man was driven mad by nightmares of mosquitoes for days. Can you imagine? Seeing them in your dreams but having no idea what they are. Any human would go insane. Hahahaha!”
Canis realized just how much history could be distorted.
Not a worthwhile trade? They had lost a comrade. The value of a single word was, in the end, a life.
“You… swindler.”
“Oh? You had your own scheme, didn’t you?”
The manager turned her head while still gripping Canis’s throat.
The panels in the area Harvest had swept through were all pulled out. He had probably been searching the panels for a word he didn't know, intending to sell that one.
“Hee hee, a clever little trick. But that’s impossible. You can only sell words that have been imbued with meaning. I explained that to you earlier. You’re a slow learner, aren’t you?”
Canis’s face was turning blue. Blood wasn’t reaching his brain.
“Now, why don’t you just hand it over and make it easy on yourself? Otherwise, you’ll die here.”
-Ha… Harvest…
-Found it! Canis!
Harvest traced the record inscribed on the glass panel with his hand.
As he perceived the world through vibrations, the sentences on the panel seeped into his mind through the mental channel.
Canis’s eyes, which had rolled back in his head, returned to their place.
“Fine, I’ll give you a word.”
“Hee hee, a wise choice. Now, what word will it be?”
‘Recommendation’ was certainly a powerful ability. But its true terror lay in ‘Coercion.’
Triggered by the contract, it permanently stole a word proposed by the target, and its aftermath was directly linked to life and death.
The manager waited for Canis’s answer with eyes steeped in madness.
A situation where he had to offer up a single word, knowing it would drive him mad.
For her, it was the most thrilling moment imaginable.
“Eu…”
The manager’s brow furrowed slightly. She wasn’t particularly fond of words starting with ‘Eu.’
“Eu. Re. Ka.”
Canis immediately fell to the floor. Clutching his throat and gasping for breath, he looked up to see the manager trembling, her face pale as a sheet.
“You… how… my name…”
The record on the panel with the serial number Arcane had left had nothing to do with dark magic.
Chronicles of the Mara.
Among them was a record pertaining to Eureka, the manager of Ingris.
Eureka hadn’t been mad from the beginning.
On the contrary, she had been a decent Mara who would enter the minds of intellectuals to edit their thoughts and aid their inspiration.
Perhaps tens of thousands of years of solitude had twisted her into this state.
“No, no! It can’t end like this!”
Canis had known of Eureka, then forgotten her.
Ultimately, the current situation was one where a non-existent Eureka existed, so she was bound to be extinguished by the law of causality.
“No! I was so close! I could have become a god! Say it! Tell me who I am!”
“Sorry, but…”
Canis said with a faint smile.
“I don’t know who you are.”
Shock filled Eureka’s eyes. Her pupils rolled back, and a despairing scream raced along the walls of Ingris.
As Eureka vanished, the Irregularity was undone, and Canis could once again grasp concepts.
“Hoo, I really can’t do this anymore.”
Canis collapsed onto the floor. If Harvest had found the information just a little later, he would have been on his way to the afterlife.
Oh, right, wasn't this the afterlife?
“Canis, are you okay?”
“Yeah, more or less. My mental energy should recover after a little rest.”
Ingris, having lost its master, felt desolate.
Canis looked at the spot where Eureka had disappeared. Solitude was a painful word for him as well.
As if echoing his thoughts, Harvest spoke.
“She must have been lonely. Rotting away in a place like this for tens of thousands of years.”
“They say Mara are just reset. Maybe she’ll have a better life in her next one.”
After a solemn silence passed, Harvest spoke.
“By the way, Canis, there’s something I have to tell you. The moment I encountered the word ‘Eureka,’ some of Arcane’s memories returned. It seems it was some kind of keyword.”
Realizing something, Canis shot to his feet.