Chapter 103
Chapter 103
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 103
Chapter Title: The Betrayer
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Ian and Eun-ha continued their notebook conversation until Aim announced the results.
- Is your real name Ain? Or is it an alias?
- It's an alias. My real name is Shin Ian.
- Shin Ian. It's a rare name in Korea. Still, it's pretty. Oh, I'm Eun-ha. Yu Eun-ha.
- I'll remember that.
Eun-ha let out a light chuckle at Ian's straightforward reply. She tapped her pen against her lips, pondering the next topic.
Just then, the doorbell to Eun-ha's apartment rang. It was the delivery she'd ordered. She let out an "Ah" and got up from her seat, soon returning with a bag containing a pizza box. The two exchanged glances and began eating in silence.
They were almost finished with the entire pizza when—
[The scales have tipped.]
Aim spoke suddenly in its toneless voice. Both their heads turned automatically toward the scales.
[Verify it.]
"......"
Ian and Eun-ha set down their pizza slices and approached the scales to check the tilted bowl.
The bowl without the prisoner fragment was positioned lower than the one with the bubbling blood. There was only one thing this could mean.
"It's the truth."
Eun-ha said.
"Good work, Aim. Let's do well next time too."
[Get lost, wench.]
With that, Aim vanished. The blood in the scales disappeared on its own, and the prisoners' screams faded away. In their place, quiet classical music filled the room. The sounds of violin and cello circulated through the air.
Eun-ha pulled out the orb she'd placed at the base of the scales and turned it upside down. The blood inside trickled down following gravity.
It wasn't fast, but in a few minutes, it would all drain out. Ian stared briefly at the red blood pooling on the table, then turned to Eun-ha.
Scribble, scribble.
He picked up a nearby pen and wrote on the notebook.
- Can we talk now?
Eun-ha nodded with a faint smile upon seeing Ian's writing.
"Yes, it's fine now. I've confirmed it's gone."
"......Phew. That's a relief."
Ian let out a sigh of relief and wiped the grease from his hands with some tissue. Eun-ha did the same, then extended her empty hand into the air.
"Summon."
With her mutter, a grimoire appeared in her hand.
It was Lemegeton, disguised with a Hamlet cover. When Eun-ha removed the cover, the title "Solomon's Lesser Key" was clearly revealed.
The title was written in Latin. But just like with other grimoires, Ian could understand every letter as Korean.
Of course, Ian had never studied Latin. The only language he knew fluently was Korean. He could get by in English and Japanese a bit, but nowhere near native level. It was absurd for him to read and comprehend Latin.
He could guess the reason, though.
'Probably because of the high compatibility.'
Hand of Recreation and Deep Sea Chronicles. The two grimoires penned by Outer Gods weren't written in any earthly language, let alone a foreign one. Yet Ian had been able to read their titles effortlessly from the first glance. The contents were the same.
If that was due to 100% compatibility, it explained understanding Lemegeton to some extent. Likely because his compatibility with Lemegeton was 100% or close to it.
But whenever Ian's gaze turned toward it, Lemegeton trembled as if anxious. It was a clear fear response. The lingering will of Solomon within Lemegeton sensed something lurking silently in Ian's coat pocket and vibrated its edges.
[Eun-ha, never hand me over to him. That's an order!]
"......Why would I show my grimoire to someone else? Don't worry."
Eun-ha muttered in disbelief. Ian tilted his head.
"Yes?"
"Oh. The grimoire suddenly spoke to me. I was just answering."
"......The grimoire speaks?"
"Yeah. We've been communicating since we first met. It sends voices straight into my head."
"......I see."
Ian glanced down at the Hand of Recreation tucked in his coat's inner pocket. The look seemed to reproach it—"Why can't you speak?"—and the grimoire vibrated as if protesting its innocence.
But there was no way he could understand the intent of a mere grimoire that couldn't even produce a voice. Ian ignored the vibrations and turned back to Eun-ha. It was time to get back to the main topic, no more chit-chat.
"My words have been proven true, right?"
Ian asked. Eun-ha lowered the scales under the table as she replied.
"Yes. No room for doubt. Aim is a devil that lives by lies by default, but it can't refuse a command to speak only the truth. So, Ian—ah, is it okay to use your real name?"
"Doesn't matter."
"Thanks. Then, using your real name... it's confirmed that what you said is true."
Eun-ha said this as she flipped through Lemegeton. Between the yellowed parchment pages, detailed magic circles and descriptions of the 72 demons were faintly visible.
"So now we need to hunt down the betrayer and deal with them. No matter the reason, selling information can't be overlooked."
"But we still don't know who they are, do we?"
"There are ways."
Eun-ha wore a subtle smile, so faint it was hard to notice unless you were paying close attention. Then she said she'd prepare the spell and headed into the dressing room. Leaving Ian alone in the living room.
"Hmm."
He finished off the last pizza slice, cleared the box and trash, and sank back onto the sofa. Leaning against the backrest felt as comfortable as lying in bed. Ian sat still for a moment to catch his breath, then stuck a wooden chopstick in his mouth and bobbed it up and down.
He wanted a cigarette, but stepping out to smoke in someone else's home after being invited over would be ridiculous. If they were close friends, maybe, but on their second meeting, there was no reason to risk offending her. Mimicking the habit would have to suffice.
'A spell using the blood of the pure.'
Ian recalled Eddie's testimony as he looked up at the ceiling.
'Dealing with them might be tricky.'
Blood magic naturally evoked images of blood mages from fantasy games—combat specialists who manipulated blood freely, morphing it into all sorts of forms for battle. Performance varied wildly by game, but they were always flashy.
Of course, reality wasn't a game. Even Kim Yul, who handled water, could only muster a wave reaching her thigh in emergencies—and that used up all her water.
She couldn't conjure water from nothing like in games. So what about blood magic?
"......"
Realistically, it probably wasn't all that impressive. Breaking it would be a breeze.
But to kill the bastard, he'd have to enter their lair. And a blood mage's lair would be overflowing with blood.
Blood packs, buckets—whatever form, stored blood would be scattered everywhere.
'It's basically fighting on their home turf. Could be trickier than Eddie.'
Ian exhaled deeply and set down the chopstick.
Still, tricky or not, he had no intention of letting them live. Better to take some risk and eliminate them for sure than leave them be and deal with more Eddies showing up.
Worst case, he could ask Cecilia for help. Even if he lost limbs, he wouldn't die, so hiring her with fair compensation wasn't a bad idea.
Ian was leaning forward with that thought when Eun-ha poked her head out from the dressing room and called him.
"Ian, I'm ready. You can come in."
"Ah, okay."
Ian snapped out of his thoughts and entered the dressing room.
A walk-in closet not overflowing with clothes. Ian spotted the massive magic circle etched into the floor and spoke.
"This is..."
"A spell borrowing power from a contracted demon. Unlike with Aim, no devil voice or form will appear, so don't worry."
Eun-ha explained as she walked to the center of the magic circle. The vividly drawn pentagram lit up stroke by stroke in response to her footsteps.
"Please step back a few paces. It won't hurt if you're caught in it, but just in case."
"Got it."
Ian complied without protest. Eun-ha smiled softly, sat on the magic circle, and closed her eyes.
"Phew......"
After a deep breath, she began chanting.
"Oh prince of prophecy who commands legions. Grand duke who pierces past, present, and future with your eyes. I, your contractor, desire your power to uncover the veiled. Reveal to me the location and information of the target I envision."
Wooong!
At the chant's end, the magic circle beneath Eun-ha glowed. The letters spelling "Vassago" turned gold, and from the seal at the top, black ink oozed out, writing words on the floor.
[I have placed knowledge in your mind.]
"......"
Eun-ha narrowed her eyes at the words. But she was actually sifting through the new knowledge injected into her head. After rummaging through it for a while, she wiped the blood trickling from her nose and stood up.
Ian frowned slightly at the sudden nosebleed.
"Wait, your nose..."
"Oh, it's fine. Just a minor side effect. Vassago's magic doesn't mix well with humans. Can't be helped."
Eun-ha gave a wry smile. Ian started to say something but just sighed and handed her tissue from nearby. She replied "Thanks" and wiped the blood roughly.
"Got the location, name, age—everything. But it disappears after 24 hours, so we should hurry."
"Understood. Just to check, how do you plan to dispose of them?"
"In a mage's way."
Eun-ha answered without hesitation. Ian let out a short laugh at her crisp reply.
Right, don't mistake her. The mage before him had good character, but she was a veteran who'd rolled in this world for years. The time for qualms about killing was long past. She was probably seasoned in mage duels too.
'A mage specializing in demonic power. Must have strong advantages in combat.'
Ian thought as he left the dressing room. He grabbed his bag and turned to Eun-ha.
"Heading out right away?"
"Yeah...... Give me a sec to prepare."
Ian nodded. Eun-ha ducked back into the dressing room, bustling about as she gathered things.
Moments later, she emerged into the living room wearing a hooded jacket and a cap pulled low. Several daggers seemed fixed to the jacket's inner lining. Lemegeton was tucked neatly in her pocket.
"Let's go. They're near Yongsan. Lives in a rundown villa, so move carefully to avoid the neighbors."
"Yes."
Ian replied, loosening his stiff wrist.
His left hand still hadn't fully recovered, but he could hold a grimoire fine. He checked the ammo in his pistol, then followed Eun-ha out of the apartment.
Their destination was Yongsan.