Chapter 119
Chapter 119
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 119
>Chapter Title: Have You Ever Gambled?
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‘The pinnacle of all Grimoires….’
The library director’s voice lingered in his ears.
Reverse Heaven. This tattered old tome he’d looted from the Decullan family’s secret annex was the pinnacle of Grimoires?
“It doesn’t quite feel real, does it?”
“…No.”
Aster shook his head.
He’d already witnessed Reverse Heaven’s power countless times.
The very fact that he was sitting here right now was thanks to the regression it had triggered. That transcendent phenomenon.
It just hit differently, remembering the moment he first obtained it.
But as he listened this far, a question arose.
‘Isn’t this too coincidental?’
The situation wasn’t bad.
He’d come to Rapiter in the first place for clues about Reverse Heaven.
Yet, the director’s words carried a strange sense of disconnect.
It didn’t feel like he was sharing widely known ‘common knowledge.’ It was more like the ‘specialized knowledge’ of someone who’d studied Reverse Heaven for ages.
“Mind if I ask one thing before we move on?”
“Shall I take a guess at your question?”
The director responded to the question with a question of his own, flashing a faint smile.
But it didn’t seem like he was waiting for an answer. Regardless of Aster’s reaction, his mouth opened again.
“You must find it odd. Suspicious, even. Information on ‘Grimoires’ is treated as a closely guarded secret even among great families, so how does this old man know so much? You’re probably thinking something like that.”
Tap, tap.
Bony fingers drummed on the armrest.
“If Reverse Heaven is such an incredible Grimoire, could this old man be… after it himself?”
Aster hadn’t considered that far.
But hearing the director out, it didn’t seem impossible.
As the director said, if Reverse Heaven was the pinnacle of all Grimoires, there was no reason a great family wouldn’t covet it.
It was worth investing astronomical resources and manpower over long years to find.
And it wasn’t limited to great families. The imperial family, nobility—anyone would desire it.
But.
“You might think it’s ‘coincidental,’ but for ‘us,’ it’s anything but.”
Us?
Regardless of Aster’s confusion, the director continued.
“Have you ever seen Reverse Heaven itself? From the look of you, it doesn’t seem to exist in ‘book’ form.”
“…I have seen it.”
“Then, have you seen any torn pages?”
“…?”
Aster paused, sifting through his memories.
‘Come to think of it….’
Something came to mind.
Back when he thought Reverse Heaven was just a worn-out old tome, he’d skimmed its contents. Of course, he couldn’t read them. But there were a few peculiarities.
‘…Missing chapters.’
Some sections were missing chunks here and there.
At the time, he’d chalked it up to the age of the tome, assuming parts had simply deteriorated. But why was that fact surfacing now?
“I see you have.”
“…Yes.”
“Then, have you ever wondered? About those missing pages. Where did the fragments go?”
“…!”
The director continued, eyes gently closed.
“For ages untold, there have been those who guarded a fragment of a Grimoire. They called themselves Endurance.”
Endurance. Patience.
Not even they knew when or why they began guarding the fragment. That much time had passed.
But one mission endured, passed down unblemished through generations.
—Protect the fragment for Reverse Heaven’s eventual master.
“What a… what a long time we’ve waited.”
“…”
“You called it coincidental? It’s not in the slightest. Rapiter was created from the start to await Reverse Heaven’s master.”
Millennia ago, as one ancestor wandered the continent, a thought struck.
If Reverse Heaven’s master appeared, they’d roam the continent seeking clues.
Then… instead of searching ourselves, let’s draw the master to us.
Library of Rapiter.
The continent’s greatest repository in the east began that way.
So that Reverse Heaven’s master, seeking clues, would have no choice but to come eventually.
“Now do you understand? It may seem coincidental to you, but your visit was foretold for us hundreds of years ago.”
* * *
The scale had exploded out of nowhere.
‘…What.’
Endurance? People who’d guarded Reverse Heaven’s fragments for ages?
And Rapiter, the east’s premier library, was built just to wait for its master?
Had all this unforeseen information crashed in at once? His head spun.
But wait.
Aster gathered his wits and asked.
“…If I heard right, then Reverse Heaven’s fragment is with you right now….”
“It is. I have it.”
“Then….”
“But only one page.”
Aster tilted his head at Teheman’s words.
“There’s more than one fragment of Reverse Heaven. I don’t know the exact number, but several exist. I’m only safeguarding one.”
“Then the others….”
“No idea.”
Teheman took a sip of tea and spoke again.
“Not all Endurance shared the same will. Depending on their circumstances, they scattered, fragments in hand.”
Just as Teheman’s ancestor had built the library to await the master.
Some Endurance wandered the continent seeking the master directly. Others cut ties with the world and secluded themselves in the mountains.
Having heard this much, Aster pressed his throbbing temples.
‘…So, in the end.’
“You’re saying I have to crawl around like a dog to find them?”
“Surely it’s not that hopeless? It’s not as bleak as you think. We’ve tracked the other fragments in our own way.”
The first thing Teheman’s ancestor did after founding the library—with the help of the academy’s inaugural chancellor and the Sage—was that.
To pinpoint the other fragments’ locations, for the master who might come anytime.
“Of course, nothing concrete. But we’ve sifted the most promising leads. They’ll be quite helpful.”
“…Ah, yes.”
It wasn’t much comfort.
‘I didn’t expect it to be easy, but….’
Unraveling Reverse Heaven was far tougher than anticipated. Still, it wasn’t hopeless.
If tracking them down was hard, he could make the Endurance come to him. That was one approach.
But that was for the farther future. When he’d grown strong enough to handle the Grimoire.
Aster set aside his thoughts and returned to the main topic.
“But then, Reverse Heaven’s fragment….”
“Yes, we should discuss that. But first, I have a question.”
“…?”
“Call it a test of sorts? It’s simple. Just give me your honest answer.”
That was when an intangible pressure rose from Teheman.
“…!”
Sss—
Magic? No, slightly different. It channeled mana, but the flow felt alien.
“Ancient magic. Devised over generations solely to confront Reverse Heaven’s master.”
Teheman said this, his sunken eyes fixing on Aster.
A blind man. In a lightless world, letters floated in the void.
This was the ancient magic Teheman had inherited as an Endurance: Reading.
It detected the letters themselves, reading them with the eyes.
In that world.
‘….’
Aster appeared as a figure composed of the bizarre letters unique to Grimoires.
Teheman stared intently at the grotesque form and spoke.
“Reverse Heaven defies the natural order. Even if you’re its acknowledged master, we can’t hand over the fragment we’ve guarded for generations to just anyone. So, I ask you.”
Amid the ancient magic filling the space, Teheman’s voice sank low.
“What do you intend to do with Reverse Heaven?”
* * *
A suffocating silence fell. A chilling tension settled between Aster and Teheman.
‘With Reverse Heaven… what do I intend?’
Even amid the pressure slicing into his skin, Aster calmly mulled the question.
Several answers flashed through his mind the instant he heard it.
Decullan.
Give that damn Pahren a taste of his own medicine.
From his previous life, through regression, to this very moment—it was the grand goal that never changed.
Here, Reverse Heaven was a blade.
The sharp sword to sever Pahren’s lifeline.
And that’s not all?
‘…Gotta build that tower, too.’
He’d vowed long ago to fill the tower with the secrets of every great family. He’d need the power to back that up.
Here, Reverse Heaven was a shield.
The strength to protect the tower from the great families’ assaults.
Other ideas surfaced as well.
‘Starting my own family wouldn’t be bad.’
Found a new magical dynasty himself. Naturally, Decullan would be the prime target.
‘Live leisurely my whole life? Sounds good.’
Power brings authority.
Wealth and fame… screw fame, just pile up more wealth! Amass a fortune and live in luxury forever.
Truth be told, there were too many answers to ‘what do you want to do?’
That’s what a Grimoire was.
‘The power to do anything you set your mind to.’
But.
‘…Let’s think.’
Aster met Teheman’s gaze with serious eyes.
‘There’s got to be an intent, a motive behind this….’
It wasn’t the type with a right answer. Otherwise, the question would’ve been more specific.
‘Then, is he looking at the ‘answer’ itself?’
Possible.
Words reveal the unconscious, intended or not. Subtle differences in phrasing, nuance—all those details paint the person….
‘…Bet. Like hell.’
What kind of nonsense was this?
Aster sighed deeply, shaking off the thoughts.
This kind of deduction was for slimy snakes like Henji. Not for someone as pure as fresh snow like himself.
“Huuuuh… With Reverse Heaven, what do I want to do.”
“…?”
Teheman tilted his head at Aster’s sudden shift.
Eyes that had been serious moments ago now skewed slyly.
As Teheman frowned at the inexplicable change.
Aster’s answer came right then.
“Never really thought about it.”
“…What?”
The biting pressure from Teheman deflated at the response.
“I mean, sure, there’s a bunch of stuff I wanna do… but is it something I absolutely need Reverse Heaven for? Nah.”
Most of the goals Aster had set were like that.
Regardless of Reverse Heaven’s existence, driven purely by his own will. He’d simply targeted what he wanted to achieve.
Here, Reverse Heaven was just an auxiliary tool to make those goals easier.
‘And now they ask what I want to do with Reverse Heaven?’
As if there’d be a pat answer.
“Phew, that feels better.”
Having blurted it all out, Aster leaned back on the sofa, relieved.
The picture of a back-alley thug.
Teheman stared in disbelief and asked again.
“…Really, truly nothing? Think hard, even now….”
“Do I have to answer?”
Teheman was at a loss for words, flustered.
This was a test of sorts. But now it felt like he was begging for an answer!
Rising fluster. Still, Teheman suppressed it and spoke.
“…Please, answer.”
“Hmm. Well, no choice then.”
Faced with Teheman’s firm stance, Aster organized his thoughts again. For a moment.
“…Ah! There is one thing.”
“What is it? Tell me.”
His voice somehow urgent. Teheman cleared his throat awkwardly, ‘ahem.’
Aster’s mouth opened right then.
“Have you ever gambled?”
“…?”
Out of nowhere?
“Gambling’s all rigged scams, right? But there’s still a code of honor, minimal as it is. So, what’s that code….”
“No, no no. Hold on, wait.”
Unable to listen further, Teheman waved his hands and cut him off.
“You… you’re saying you’ll use Reverse Heaven for gambling?”
“You some kinda punk?”
“…”
Boiling inside. Teheman held back again. True Endurance-level superhuman patience.
“So, what’s the conclusion?”
His lips parted barely. This time, a proper answer or else.
As he steeled himself.
Aster’s response made even that resolve seem laughable, utterly absurd.
“Grimoires.”
“…Grimoires?”
“I’m gonna burn ’em all.”
Teheman closed his eyes against the surging blood pressure.