Chapter 112
Chapter 112
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 112
Chapter Title: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
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To use magic, one must hold ether within their body. And this ether—or the energy known as Merlin's flesh—often granted the human body new senses.
In other words, a sixth sense. A new sensation that went beyond the five senses, closer to intuition and instinct.
It wasn't quite like the "mage's intuition akin to prophecy" found in games or novels, but it still reached the level of animalistic instinct. And right now, that instinct was ringing alarm bells like mad.
[Hostile detected. Hostile detected. Sky. Sky. Hostile detec—]
Pssshhh.
The reverse aimer pinned to his coat sent a warning straight into Ian's mind before rapidly breaking down. The bird-shaped brooch melted away, and the engraved spell scattered into the air and vanished.
Ian cursed inwardly as he put distance between himself and the group. Their gazes naturally followed him. Eyes like moonlight poured down like moonbeams.
'Moon.'
Thanks to stepping back, he could observe the sky more closely. Ian called the Circulator to his side and stared sharply up at the blue sky. The full moon reflected clearly in his obsidian-black eyes.
Its shape wasn't much different. A round sphere. But a full moon hanging there in broad daylight was bizarre in itself, and its size was far larger than the sun's. He had to hold both hands side by side to barely cover it.
A blatant anomaly. One originating from beyond the sky, from outer space. Various moon-related urban legends and horror tales flashed through his mind.
There were plenty of conspiracy theories and horror stories centered on the moon. Since ancient times, the moon—opposite the sun—had been the afterlife, an unknown entity, a rock threatening Earth. It was also some kind of egg, and a grotesque mass that eroded the mind.
Perhaps the horror tale applied to this moon was one of the mind-attacking variety. Or maybe all of them.
'This is insane.'
With the moon as the source of the mental attack, Ian couldn't step up and destroy it himself. The scale was worlds apart from the Monkey's Paw incident. The gap between a mere primate's hand and a satellite swimming around Earth was immense.
It meant he couldn't handle it the same way as with the Monkey's Paw. Ian let out a long breath and drew his pistol, preparing for any contingency.
Not to shoot at the moon, but to neutralize the group entranced by it.
They hadn't shown any reactions beyond staring yet, but they might suddenly grin maniacally and charge. And when that happened, Ian wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger. It would be a lie to say he felt nothing for them, but survival mattered more.
'The source of the brainwashing is Dongyo. Little Star.'
He calmly assessed the situation. Gripping his grimoire tightly, he watched for any sign that even the Circulator might fall under the spell.
'When did the group start acting strange?'
When they heard Dongyo.
'When did the headache start?'
That too began when they heard Dongyo. No, perhaps a global mental disruption had been slowly building even before that.
The moon in broad daylight was something Ian had observed weeks ago. If the attack had started then, and if they had been exposed... The song might not be the source of the brainwashing. But analyzing the current situation pointed to the song.
Whatever the case, there was no way they weren't connected.
'The moon appeared when I summoned the Circulator. And the moment the moon showed up, they lost their minds.'
Using magic couldn't have been the trigger for the brainwashing. If it were, the incident would have happened back in the tunnel when they used magic. There was something more profound at play.
The moment that thought struck him, a fact flashed in Ian's mind.
No moonlight could reach below the tunnel, and the song wasn't loud enough to seep that far inside. But the instant those two constraints vanished, the mental attack on the group began. And during that attack, he had used magic.
Not just any magic, but an Outer God's—practically symbolic—magic.
"You bastard."
Once his thoughts reached that point, Ian couldn't help but sneer up at the moon.
"You're after my grimoire?"
[Waaaaaahhhhh!!!]
As Ian spoke, an alarm blared from the village speakers that had only been playing Dongyo.
A piercing noise that stabbed at the ears. Ian instinctively pulled out his lighter to block the sound. But the group outside its range was fully exposed to the alarm.
Heh.
Their faces transformed.
From expressionless to a smile.
From smile to sorrow.
From sorrow to joy.
From joy to despair.
And from despair to melancholy.
Facial muscles unable to withstand the rapid changes tore, blood flowing. Blood mixed with falling tears trailed down cheeks, pooling at the chin and dripping.
The moment those blood droplets splattered onto the asphalt road.
Thung!
They gripped their weapons and charged at Ian. He pulled the trigger without hesitation.
A bullet fired in silence shattered the shoulder of the lead Management Bureau agent. Unable to withstand the kinetic energy, he toppled backward, and Cecilia right behind him collapsed under Park Hoseok's weight.
Crack!
Her occiput shattered. Albert trampled her mouth as he gripped his dagger and lunged forward.
"Urk!"
Ian barely managed to fire, smashing his knee, then pocketed the lighter and leaped back.
At the same time, a siren pierced his ears.
And amid it, an intrusive noise slipped precisely into Ian's ears.
"Ugh... What... is this...."
Fluent Italian. Amid the brain-pounding siren, Cecilia's clear voice seeped through. Ian's head turned toward her fallen form.
"...Urgh... What is this sound... Ah."
But soon her face was dyed in melancholy again. As if her brief moment of clarity had been a lie, Cecilia drew her pistol and aimed at Ian. He rolled aside to dodge, but frowned as the pooled rainwater grabbed at his ankle.
'Kim Yul...!'
Her water-manipulating magic. Just before Cecilia fired, Ian turned to the Circulator and commanded.
"Devour all water in the vicinity!"
[Plip!]
The Circulator moved. It stood right behind Ian and burst its own head.
Black seawater poured out like blood. The headless body staggered and collapsed on the spot.
It looked like death at a glance. But Ian swiftly grabbed the Circulator's corpse and held it up as a shield. At that moment, Cecilia pulled the trigger.
KABOOM!
A massive explosion, and her wrist shattered. The recoil sent the pistol flying upward, cracking her skull at the forehead. But the bullet fired true.
The lead slug tore through the air. A lump of lead that would punch a massive hole flew straight at the Circulator's limp corpse.
Just before impact.
Crack!
A new head sprouted on the Circulator, chomping and swallowing the incoming bullet. A head far larger than its body gulped the round past its throat with a short cry.
[Grrr....]
A growl vibrating far lower than before. The Circulator drooled between its teeth as it slowly crawled out from under its own corpse.
A 7-meter behemoth. Far larger than any crocodile, the Circulator stood protectively in front of Ian, letting out a low roar. Black seawater leaked from its abdomen.
[Grrowl...!]
It roared shortly. In that instant, all nearby water turned into black seawater from the outer sea.
A creature that grew larger and evolved with each death. If its base form adjusted and controlled prey size, its current ability dominated and transformed water flows. A specimen that survived through ability over brawn, its power was overwhelming.
"...."
The water transformed into outer sea seawater no longer obeyed Kim Yul. She became an ordinary human in an instant.
The intended result. Ian put a bullet in Kim Yul's knee next, then ordered the Circulator.
"Protect me from now on. We're breaking through."
[Grk!]
The Circulator nodded. No eyes, yet it sensed presence; no ears, yet it read intent. Feeling like a well-trained guard dog, Ian charged toward the fallen Cecilia. Management Bureau agents rushed at his flank, but the Circulator harvested their heads.
Splash!
Blood gushed from the severed necks. Hot blood soaked Ian, and after roughly wiping the blood obstructing his vision, he scooped up Cecilia and hurled himself into the forest.
Crunch...!
He collided with trees in his path. Stinging pain radiated from his back, choking his breath, but Ian gritted his teeth, swapped grimoires, and slapped a hand on a tree to cast a spell.
"Urgh...! Be reborn anew!"
Crack!
The tree's material changed. Its rough, bumpy surface smoothed, roots wrapping around Ian as it extended deep into the forest. His secured body glided along the tree.
At a considerable speed, Ian gritted his teeth and gripped Cecilia tighter. It was grueling, but the speed let him shake pursuit easily. When those chasing—even after being shot—faded from view, Ian halted the mutation and descended carefully.
His legs trembled, but he slammed a fist down to steady them. He ignored the throbbing pain from his back. This wasn't the time to complain about pain.
"Hoo...."
Ian looked up at the sky, exhaling a pain-laced breath.
A forest where leaves hadn't fully thickened yet. But the sprouting foliage was enough to obscure the sky. Ian stared briefly at the moon's surface peeking through, then turned at Cecilia's groan.
"Hah... Hnng...."
Her fractured forehead, bleeding profusely, was now pristine and scar-free as she opened her eyes. She looked around in confusion, then fixed her gaze on Ian.
"I... an... What... is happening—"
"Do you trust me, Cecilia?"
"...What?"
Cecilia furrowed her brow at the unexpected response. But Ian gave her no room.
"No time for questions. No time to explain. Just answer. Do you trust me?"
"...."
Cecilia clutched her throbbing head and stared piercingly at Ian.
After a moment, she nodded shortly.
That was enough. Ian pulled out the "Dying Hearing" from his pocket and brought it close to her ear canal.
"Cecilia Capone."
Click.
As he murmured her name, something clicked in Ian's mind. He met Cecilia's eyes squarely and tore off the ear without hesitation.
Rip!
At the same instant, Cecilia's ear ripped from her head.
"....!"
Her face twisted in agony.
Her hearing vanished in an instant. Not just the ear—every organ for sound was gone, her pupils trembling.
But Ian gave her no time to recover. He covered her eyes with one hand and carved words into her palm with the other.
[Permanent loss. Irreversible.]
Her shoulders twitched as she understood.
[Necessary. Trust me.]
"...Hngh, hngh...."
Cecilia groaned shortly and grasped the hand over her eyes. Then she slowly opened her mouth.
"What's the situation?"
[Fucked situation.]
Ian answered thus, looking up at the sky.
[The moon has become an anomaly.]