Chapter 132
Chapter 132
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 132
Chapter Title: The Blue Shackles and the Book of Contracts
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The main facilities on the second floor of the school were the first-year classrooms, the science lab, the music room, and the art room. Ian and Lee Seo-ah started by checking out the classrooms one by one.
"Whoa, look over there, Ian. The whole class hanged themselves. What's that rope connected to?"
"Classes 1 through 3 are all duds. Class 4... Ugh, better not look. Fitting for the number four, they died the messiest."
"Class 5's the same. Did they headbutt each other or something? Heads are all smashed."
"Still, just in case, let's search each one. Starting with Class 1."
They went in.
"...Nothing here."
It wasn't just Class 1. None of the first-year classrooms had anything special. At best, there were human heads decorating lockers like cakes. The rest were just plain mass suicides or murder scenes. No anomalies either.
So Ian quickly gave up searching the classrooms and headed to the science lab. He rummaged through the hallway lockers on the way, but nothing stood out.
"...You're here."
Leah was sitting in the science lab. She had been reading Hand of Recreation at a desk, but closed the cover when she spotted Ian.
"You're later than I expected. Weren't you coming straight up?"
"I checked the first-year rooms. Nothing special."
"I saw them too. Music room and art room were the same."
She stood up. With a clatter, the painting leaning against the desk shook slightly. Leah casually set the book down, picked up the painting, and showed it to Ian and Lee Seo-ah.
It was the Mona Lisa. But unlike the original, the one on the canvas was shedding tears and crying.
Blue paint trickled down its surface, pooling at the frame's edges before dripping off. The blue paint soaking the floor spread like bugs.
Crunch!
Leah stomped on the paint. Blue bugs bubbled up and burst like soda, evaporating.
"Found this in the art room. I liked it personally, so I kept it."
Leah tapped the frame with her finger. Strangely, it didn't burst or melt away at her touch. Apparently, the frame wasn't part of the anomaly—the painting or paint was.
For some reason, it seemed like that voice came from the crying Mona Lisa, but he ignored it. Nothing stupider than listening to an anomaly's voice.
"You can't take that with you, you know."
"Doesn't matter. It's not that big a deal."
Leah unceremoniously tossed the painting to the floor and approached Ian. She buried her face in the nape of his neck and sniffed.
"Hmm... Looks like you haven't been sticking too close. I only smell you."
"...Don't do that. Gives me the creeps."
"Sorry, but I can't heed that. You have to give a little too, right?"
And with that, she placed her hand on his chest, over his heart.
"When I get close, your heart races. Fear response? No. The rhythm's different."
"... ."
"If anything... Hehe, it's a pleasant thrum."
"...Whatever. If there's nothing here, let's head to the third floor. Not much time till midnight."
Ian pushed Leah away with a sigh.
11 p.m. sharp. One more hour until midnight. The time when Nut and Hecate grew strongest, and by the world's clock, the next day dawned. No telling what the school would do once the date changed, so best to wrap up quick and leave.
"Let's go."
Up to the third floor. A female student with her lower half blown off crawled up the stairs, dripping blood, but Lee Seo-ah sent her to the afterlife without a glance. The girl's head rolled away; she vanished without a scream.
The third floor had second-year classrooms and slimes sloshing around. Unlike their cute looks, they were made of hydrochloric, sulfuric, and nitric acid, slowly melting the hallway.
Touch them carelessly, and they'd dissolve skin, muscle, even bone. But ghosts had no flesh or blood to melt.
"Hya!"
[Kyuiiiik!]
The slimes met a mob lynching from the ghosts and dissolved. They screamed pitifully, but no hero came to save them. Just cackling ghosts stomping them flat.
The slimes vanished. Leah eyed their remains with a bored expression.
"So much pointless work. Is this the limit of human-made magic?"
"Looks impressive to me."
"Saying that when you wield two Outer God spells? Hurts my pride a bit."
Leah muttered, glancing back at Ian. He shrugged.
"Difference in perspective. Those would've melted my hand if I touched them."
Recreation magic couldn't be used remotely. It required physical contact to activate. Powerful enough to kill any foe instantly if desired, but the close-range limit was clear. Bad matchup against acid slimes.
Leah knew it too, crossing her arms with a blank face.
"...That's the only safety net. If you'd written a spell activated by gaze alone, you couldn't handle it. Don't you get headaches from the side effects already?"
"Whatever the reason, pros and cons exist either way. Means Necromancy isn't something to dismiss."
"...Hm."
Leah fell silent. She seemed to accept Ian's words, but really, she was just pretending. She didn't want to argue. Deep down, she resented comparing her magic to that on the same level.
Not strange. Her own spells were far superior in rank. Ian knew it well. Still, limits existed apart from that. Matchups were everywhere.
"Ah, senpai!"
At the end of the third-floor hall sat the Master of the Outer Sea. She had been drawing on the floor with chalk from who-knows-where but jumped up.
"You're late! I got tired of waiting!"
"Yeah, sorry. What were you drawing?"
Ian asked casually. She beamed and stepped aside.
"Ta-da. It's you, senpai."
Under the moonlit window. The pure white chalk drawing boldly depicted Ian's face. Impressively serene for an Outer God—aside from the slight wriggling.
"Drew it thinking of when we live together someday. What do you think? Pretty good, right?"
Beside the well-drawn Ian was a girl's face, half-covered in bizarre tentacles. Around them, tiny Outer Sea creatures in a family-like pose.
"... ."
"Our future selves. Like it?"
Ian silent, the Master of the Outer Sea linked arms with him, smiling. A faint rose scent wafted.
"Don't like it? Doesn't matter. It's the future that'll happen anyway."
"...You."
"Come on, let's go. Time to search the third floor?"
Without waiting for a reply, she unlinked arms and skipped down the hall. Ian stared at her back, sighed deeply, and followed.
'When did she get her hooks in me like this?'
No need to overthink. Picking up the grimoire had linked him to the Outer Gods. Maybe fate.
Regretting the past now was pointless. Ian gave a wry smile and searched the third floor with the group.
"Ooh, this classroom's full of water? Shark inside too. So cute."
"Yeah. You going in wouldn't be bad. Go on. It'll like you—you match."
"Haha, pipe down, you old hag. Wanna end up just a head planted in the garden?"
"Try me."
"Think I won't?"
The search went smoothly. No grimoire on the third floor, though. Just wriggling cube-like kunekune and a dancing ballerina. The four exterminated both and headed to the rooftop.
The rooftop teemed with students in mass jumps. Lee Seo-ah harvested heads before they fell, turning them to corpses, and checked pockets.
"Nothing."
"...Guess we have to go underground."
Ian sighed deeply. Hoped to finish before descending, but no choice now.
"Let's go. 30 minutes left."
The group went down to the first floor and stood before the basement stairs Lee Seo-ah had found. An eerie chill, dragging chains, and wails echoed from the pitch-black steps.
Quintessential ill omens, but no one tensed. They descended without hesitation.
"Kyaa! Senpai, I'm so scared!"
The Master of the Outer Sea clung cutely to Ian's arm. Lee Seo-ah snorted, while Leah grabbed her head and yanked her off roughly.
"Scared? Go back up. Don't bother him."
"Let go. Wanna die for real?"
"Yapping lapdog's not scary. Better vanish if you're just trouble. Or fix that fishy stench first."
"Haha, better than slathering perfume to look good like some people? And it only reeks to idiots like you. Hint to scram. So let go and beat it."
"Promise not to approach him."
"Why's my husband your husband?"
Ian ignored the bickering Outer Gods and stepped down first.
The basement was surprisingly normal. Hallway stretched straight like upper floors, with varied classrooms branching off. Ian spun his lighter between fingers and walked steadily.
"Hm?"
Then he spotted a locker right ahead.
Looked like any ordinary locker. No special aura either.
"... ."
Ian gripped Knowledge-Eating Paper in one hand for readiness and cautiously opened it.
Inside was a single book. But Ian knew instantly it wasn't ordinary.
Thin volume. Blue cover with gold embroidery. Short chains dangling from the corners.
And a title not in Korean yet readable as Hangul.
"...Found it."
Ian grinned and turned to the group.
"Got the grimoire. Come here."
"Oh, found it, senpai? Where, where. Let's see what this damn bitch looks like."
The Master of the Outer Sea, moments ago snarling at Leah, hopped over and approached Ian.
That instant, the grimoire in the locker vanished clean.
"...?"
Ian's face twisted. He stared at the now-empty locker, then told the approaching Master of the Outer Sea,
"Hold up. Go back up the stairs."
"Huh? Why?"
"Need to check something. Just for a sec."
"Hng... Okay, got it."
She obediently went back up.
The moment she did, the grimoire shyly reappeared in the empty locker. Ian narrowed his eyes and mouthed,
"...Leah, come down for a sec."
"Okay."
Clack, clack.
As Leah descended step by step, the grimoire trembled more, then hid again the instant she entered the hall.
"...Go back up."
"...? Okay."
She went up. As she left the hall and stepped onto the stairs, the grimoire peeked out again.
"...Ha."
This bastard, huh?