Chapter 130
Chapter 130
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 130
Chapter Title: The Third
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“There’s a title called Godslayer.”
Leah said.
She sat at the same table as Ian, pouring hydrochloric acid into a beaker with a steady trickle. The human mannequin standing behind her twitched its shoulders.
“It’s a common epithet. The one who slays gods. A honorific created to praise that great feat. Well, anyone can claim to be a Godslayer, so the word itself doesn’t carry much weight, but there have been a few who actually toppled gods.”
Croak, croak.
A frog trapped inside the beaker thrashed as the acid touched it.
Even after its organs had all fallen out, the frog kept moving.
It was one of the anomalies, of course. The frog born from a dissection experiment would dominate others’ minds with its croaking, forcing them to rip open their own bellies. Unfortunately for it, Ian was immune to mental domination. Even Lee Seo-ah could shrug this off.
Leah? Did that even need explaining?
“Earth has them too, right? Beings who killed gods.”
“...Kratos?”
“...Who’s that? I meant Longinus.”
Sizzle.
By now, the frog had melted into a gooey mess in the acid. Leah shook out the last drops before placing the beaker—now swirling with green and red liquids—on the desk.
“Strictly speaking, the ‘Jesus’ figure in Christianity isn’t a god. But if you dig into actual history, he’s the closest thing to one.”
“...You’re pretty well-versed in Earth history.”
“Thanks to someone, I had to study it alone. It wasn’t much fun.”
Clink.
Leah moved the beaker to the corner of the table. Several other frog corpses, killed the same way, were already lined up in beakers there.
It was a gruesome sight, but Ian felt no pity or sympathy for them. His heart wasn’t deep enough to waste emotions on anomalies. What mattered was that the ‘dissection frog’ anomaly had been resolved. He took a swig of the cold water he’d brought and leaned back in his chair.
As Leah sat beside him, a faint hyacinth scent wafted through the air. It almost smelled like sweet milk.
“Anyway, what I’m saying is that even gods can die. Outer Gods are no exception.”
“...I already know you destroyed the moon. I’m aware.”
“Good. Then you know I’m not immortal either.”
“...”
“You get why you need to cherish me, right?”
“I just can’t picture anyone killing you...”
Ian gave a wry smile and glanced around.
The school’s science lab.
In the cold, eerie confines of the sealed room, Ian, Lee Seo-ah, and Leah sat around the same table. The rest were all energetically clutching their stomachs, ripping them open to spill organs and blood everywhere.
A literal organ show. The result of hearing the frog’s croak directly. Students without resistance slashed wildly at their abdomens and chests with scissors, cutter knives, or shards of glass. Red blood flowers bloomed in every direction.
Even among the same anomalies, those without resistance ended up like this. The law of the jungle applied to them too.
It wasn’t strange at all.
“So what you’re saying is, even Outer Gods can die—and the same goes for the owner of the grimoire that created this space?”
“Exactly. Saves me the explanation.”
Leah undid the top button of her shirt, as if her chest felt tight, and replied. Lee Seo-ah stared at her blankly before subtly lowering her gaze.
“...”
Her expression twisted in disgust.
“We can skip how the grimoire appeared, since the fish explained that. You’re more curious about why its emergence caused all this anyway.”
Leah brushed her hair back with a hand and fixed her gaze on Ian.
“The reason’s simpler than you think. The grimoire wasn’t finished yet, but they released it anyway.”
“...Released it.”
“Let it loose, set it free—whatever you call it, it’s the same. They rushed it out, and anomalies latched onto it.”
A lock of snow-white hair drifted over Ian’s hand like falling snow.
“Grimoires we create can’t be touched or read by anyone except the permitted owner. Even other Outer Gods would suffer some damage trying.”
“...”
“But that’s for completed grimoires. An unfinished one is inherently weak. It’s a bit odd that it can’t shake off even the anomalies parasitizing it, but it’s not impossible.”
“So if we find that grimoire and destroy it, we can get out of here?”
“Yes. If we leave it, it’ll grow stronger over time, devour the anomalies completely, and fly off to find its owner. What happens to the person inside the anomaly is obvious.”
It really was obvious. They’d just become part of the grimoire and vanish.
“Then aren’t you in danger too?”
“If it eats me, it’ll backfire and die.”
She replied with a calm expression.
“I don’t know the grimoire’s name—Newborn or whatever—but I know the Outer God’s. It’s called the Hermit’s Shackles. It clung to me a few times and got its limbs torn off. No way it survives eating me.”
Ian gave a wry smile at her voice, devoid of any worry.
“Alright, I get it. So finding the grimoire ends this farce.”
“Easier said than done. All sorts of anomalies will thrash around to stop you. No matter the reason, the grimoire is like their source of form—they’ll defend it with everything they’ve got.”
“Can’t just sit around. We have to do something.”
“True. At least that human’s with you.”
Leah’s gaze shifted to Lee Seo-ah. Lee Seo-ah, who had brushed off the frog’s mental domination, flinched under her eyes but didn’t look away or show fear.
“Hm.”
Perhaps intrigued, Leah crossed her legs with a hum. Of course, her interest was about as much as a tiny bug raising its antennae instead of fleeing.
“How about we test some human-developed magic while we’re at it? School anomalies are mostly ghost-like rather than bizarre, so her spells should have good matchup.”
“...What’s the point of—”
“Don’t respond to me. Humans hate hearing bugs cry too, right? Just listen quietly. A quiet dog’s more popular than a barking one.”
“...”
Lee Seo-ah clamped her mouth shut. Ian sighed deeply as he saw her expression sour.
“...Leah, I get how you feel about humans other than me, but could you hold off on expressing it right now?”
“Tough request. But since it’s you, I’ll try.”
“That’s enough.”
Ian replied offhandedly and turned to Lee Seo-ah. Leah’s hand trailed over his thigh as she looked away, but he ignored it.
“You can handle the school anomalies yourself, right?”
“...Not a problem. I’ve even got a scout drone out right now.”
Lee Seo-ah pulled a glass vial filled with bone dust from her pocket as she answered.
It brimmed with her blood. The bone dust swam frantically through the red liquid.
“I’ve spotted about fifteen anomalies so far. Famous ones: Hanako-san in the bathroom, Kunekune, Red Tissue, Blackout Broadcast, Beethoven, Infirmary Surgery, Mass Suicide Classroom, and so on. A ton of them. All ghost-types.”
“...”
“Perfect for collecting.”
She smiled faintly and shook the vial. The blood sloshed side to side, accompanied by the laughter of evil spirits echoing around her.
“Let’s move when the sun sets. After-hours school means fewer eyes, easier to act.”
Ian nodded. He tapped the table with his finger, staring at the frog-filled beaker.
I don’t plan to take another grimoire. Two’s already too many.
There were sayings like striking while the iron’s hot and excess leading to deficiency. Adding another Outer God grimoire here would definitely be excess.
He might manage it with control, but that would take a lot of effort. He’d have to juggle everything.
But... as a mage, he couldn’t help the greed.
New spells, an unfinished grimoire from an Outer God swimming the cosmos. He was dying to know what knowledge and symbolic magic lay within. Better to dispose of it than let it fall into others’ hands—but if disposing, why not claim it instead?
The Master of the Outer Sea and Leah might flip, but the decision’s mine.
Tap, tap.
He organized his thoughts with steady taps. Lee Seo-ah sorted her evil spirits, while Leah watched Ian impassively.
For a long while.
Alright.
Ian made his decision.
If compatibility’s 100 percent, I take it. Otherwise, destroy it.
Outer God grimoires came with madness. But at perfect compatibility, the side effect was negligible. Like the Hand of Recreation or Deep Sea Chronicles—if the new one hit 100 percent too, owning it wouldn’t induce madness.
99 percent? Toss it without regret. Same for anything lower. He already had two near-perfect grimoires; no reason to risk adding family.
And even if compatibility’s high, if it doesn’t cling first like the others, I’ll think longer. No guarantee the Hermit’s Shackles will be friendly like those two.
Tough conditions, but that’s why he needed caution. One slip, and his mind could snap. No room for carelessness.
And... if it passed all that and became his third grimoire? His relations with the other two Outer Gods...
“Hm.”
Well, that’d be their problem.
Not his concern.
Ian nodded, thinking that.