Chapter 131
Chapter 131
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 131
Chapter Title: The Third
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The sky, where the sun never rose, naturally didn't see sunsets either. Instead, like flipping over a sheet of paper, the colors of the world shifted in an instant. It took less than a second for sunset hues to blanket the blue sky.
"......"
Suddenly, the Hollow Earth theory popped into his mind. That ridiculous conspiracy about a world similar to the surface unfolding inside the Earth. Nonsense on par with flat Earth or donut Earth theories, but Anomalies devoured even such drivel and turned it into reality. Perhaps some conspiracy drawn by the Grimoire's energy had taken root here.
'The Hollow Earth theory claims a world complete with a sun exists inside the Earth. Maybe the Earth stole a sun that once truly existed.'
Of course, it was just a hypothesis, and even if true, it posed no issue. He had no intention of boring through the mantle to go underground. It was simply a matter of finding the Grimoire and swiping it—done.
The problem was that the sun's absence had drained the school of yang energy.
Since ancient times, the sun symbolized yang while the moon embodied yin. Days brimmed with yang energy, nights with yin. But this space lacked a sun, leaving only a serene moon hanging in the sky. Not reflecting sunlight, but emitting its own glow.
Isolated Moon.
The lonely moonlight, without a source to grant it light, swept away the sunset hues, dyeing the sky black. Like ink bleeding across drawing paper, the sunset was encroached upon and vanished into the night sky.
Ian stood on the school field, quietly gazing up at the sight.
The cause of that night sky was likely the work of the Hollow Earth theory combined with the power of the goddess of night.
The entity commonly called Nut or Hecate. This fallen goddess, who caused endless headaches whenever she appeared, was devouring the day to summon the moon. In the distance, he almost imagined a statue with three heads slowly revealing itself.
A truly overwhelming spectacle.
In reality, he'd have contacted the Management Bureau immediately upon seeing such a thing, but this was a virtual space crafted by the Grimoire. Even if an Anomaly of that scale rampaged, it didn't feel frightening. If anything, it was intriguing.
'Gods from Greek-Roman and Egyptian myths become nothing but harmful to humanity once touched by Anomalies.'
Well, not all gods in myths were kind to humans anyway. In a way, it might even be faithful to the lore.
He'd known since Pygmalion's appearance that Greek-Roman mythological beings had materialized, but witnessing a divine existence firsthand still felt refreshingly novel.
Of course, it wasn't a real god—just some Anomaly pup wearing its skin—so he wasn't overly worried. Means to kill it would turn up as needed; fearing it would be laughable. Worst case, he could just toss in a creature from the Outer Sea.
"......Hoo."
His stray thoughts had dragged on. Ian waited for the sky to fully plunge into darkness, pulling a cigarette from his pocket.
Alchemist faction special-make. It purified the lungs and severed tobacco addiction.
Too pricey to smoke often, but his mouth felt idle, so he lit one up.
Sizzle.
As he lit it, smoke with a sweet lemon candy aroma billowed up.
Snow fell from the sky. Rain poured. Fallen leaves drifted down, and cherry blossoms scattered.
In a place where four seasons coexisted, temperatures varied wildly; each step brought a shift in the air wrapping his body.
Traits he hadn't noticed until recognizing the memory manipulation. With "new semester" implanted in his head, it was only natural. New semesters began in spring, after all.
Now that he was aware, it was different. Ian stood in a spot free of rain or snow, silently surveying the field.
[Faster! Run!]
[Huff... huff...!]
Three male students ran side by side on the track. But they weren't in good shape.
Torn muscles, shattered bones piercing skin on their legs. Blood splattered and bone shards or flesh flew with each step, yet they didn't stop.
One had both legs severed, crawling the track on his arms. Naturally, skin and muscle shredded away, exposing bones and organs.
"......"
The ghost story of students and teachers who loved running continuing to lap the field even after death.
They hadn't appeared while the sun was up. Likely born from the school's nocturnal peculiarities. Nothing surprising.
'Summoning the Grimoire... impossible. Probably because those two Outer Gods manifested through it.'
Not a major issue. He regretted not using Re-creation or summoning magic, but Ian had plenty of other spells at his disposal. Lacking a Grimoire didn't mean he couldn't cast magic; that was a crutch mentality.
'The items I brought are all here... and functioning... no problems. Good, let's go.'
Before entering the school, Ian lightly stretched and rolled his stiff wrists. He tossed the spent cigarette aside and headed for the front gate.
Ghosts the size of elementary students clung thickly to the gate. The squished figures stared at Ian, spewing curses.
He ignored them. No time to heed mere stray spirits' voices.
Middle schools ended before sunset, but high schools didn't. Most ran evening classes, so students cleared out after 10 PM. This space followed suit.
[PM 10:13]
Checking the time on his watch, Ian narrowed his eyes and drew a glass shard from his pocket.
The clock from the school ghost story. A bomb where no one knew what happened past midnight. Best to wrap things up before then.
"Hoo."
Ian eyed his breath fogging in the cold air, then pushed open the school gate and entered the building. The gate morphed into iron bars to crush him, but slamming into the mirror turned it to glass shards that shattered across the floor with the vengeful spirits. Beautiful fragments splintered alongside the evil ghosts.
"Ah, you're here."
On the first floor, in the shoe-change area, Lee Seo-ah turned from her seat to greet him. Ian spotted the ghosts looming behind her and let out a chuckle.
"Selected evil spirits?"
"Yeah. This one's Hanako-san. Come on, say hi."
Lee Seo-ah grinned wickedly, eyeing a small girl-shaped ghost. The bruise-covered girl shuffled forward timidly and bowed.
[H-Hello... I'm Hanako from the bathroom... Th-the owner here beat me, and I chose capture over vanishing... Sniff...]
"Mm-hm. I crushed a horde of them into one and compressed it into a pretty strong evil spirit. A masterpiece, a masterpiece."
Lee Seo-ah beamed proudly, then hopped up with a "Ta-da!"
"The white Outer God is waiting on the second floor, the black one on the third. We can take it slow."
Ian nodded.
They'd dispersed personnel due to the school's unique traits. To more easily search a building that inexplicably grew larger and more labyrinthine at night, they'd spread out.
If Leah and the Master of the Outer Sea were ordinary humans, it'd be suicidal, but luckily, they were beings far removed from normal. No worry of them getting picked off individually.
Their current forms were illusions constructed via the Grimoire's created space—essentially just walking Grimoires. Anyone but Ian touching them would pop them like balloons. Even Anomalies weren't exempt.
And if—truly if—they somehow fell, they'd just revert to their Grimoire forms. He could resummon them then.
They wouldn't die, and even if they did, it didn't matter. Perfect scouts. The two disliked it, but that wasn't an obstacle.
Sending Lee Seo-ah to the first floor was because, unlike them, she was human and could die. So they'd regroup quickly.
"I poked around lightly, but nothing much on the first floor. Oh, found this book."
Lee Seo-ah rummaged and pulled out a red book. Ian eyed it closely, then tilted his head.
"Not a Grimoire?"
"Right. It's from the ghost story called 'The Red Book.' A novel that drives you mad the more you read? Something like that."
Lee Seo-ah smiled brightly and tossed it away. Her evil spirits shredded it to pieces.
"Grabbed it just in case, but no need to carry it now that you say it's not a Grimoire."
"Nothing else?"
"Nope. Haven't checked the library or pool yet, so those wrap up the first floor. The basement... found stairs, but going down seemed iffy."
"Good work. Basement after we all regroup."
As he replied, an artificial body model arm flew at Ian's vision. But before it reached, Lee Seo-ah's guardian spirit sliced it apart. Shredded bone and flesh rained to the floor.
The guardian spirit confirmed Ian was safe, then zipped toward the source. Moments later, it returned with the model's head. Ian smiled faintly at the dripping trophy.
"......Definitely strong against mental domination, and with combat prowess too. Convenient company."
Those Ian had teamed with before mostly faltered under mental attacks. Lee Seo-ah, though, seemed adapted to constant memory tweaks, maintaining a calm expression. She'd barely reacted to the frog croaks too.
Memory manipulation wasn't mental attack per se, and Laughing Buddha or others might hit harder than this place's assaults, but regardless, Lee Seo-ah proved useful. Nice not stepping up himself for once.
'Yeah, time for me to ride the bus too. I'll handle the finale.'
He'd have to act when they found the Grimoire, but for now, conserving energy with her help was smarter.
Thinking that, Ian turned to her.
"Pool first. Library after, then up to the second floor."
"Okay. Let's go."
Lee Seo-ah hummed, hands behind her back. Moments later, she smirked mischievously, raising both hands as if demonstrating something she'd spotted.
"Ian, I'll teach you everything."
"No, let's just go to the pool."
Instant refusal.
"......Hng."
Lee Seo-ah pouted, lips drooping.
Unfortunately, the pool held nothing special beyond water ghosts. Same for the library. No Grimoire-lookalikes, just ghost story books mixed among ordinary ones.
First floor cleared.
Now, time for the second floor.