Chapter 100
[His name is Eddie Junior Howard. The magic he uses is mystery magic. He was born in England, and his father is a doctor, his mother is an author—]
“That’s enough. Is he a magician affiliated with Laplace?”
Ian cut him off and spat. Eddie’s soul hesitated for a moment before answering.
[Yes.]
“What was his position?”
[Laplace has no such thing. Also, if you really want to nitpick, I was closer to a contract worker than a full-time employee.]
“Hm.”
[The role I was assigned was to strengthen the mystery power I was given. And to dominate that mystery.]
“……You were provided with a mystery?”
Ian’s brows furrowed. He had heard a similar story before.
The cruise that had turned into a game. Didn’t the captain say the USB that caused it had also been provided by someone?
With no way to investigate further, he’d shoved it into the back of his memory for the time being. Now that the opportunity had come, there was no need to leave it there. Ian personally exhumed that memory and leaned forward slightly.
“Who gave it to you?”
[Laplace’s leader, Walter. He is a magician who can turn the people he personally kills into mysteries.]
“……What?”
Turn the dead into mysteries.
A story about magicians so familiar he’d read it over and over. Others might not care much, but for Ian, it was history from the past that mattered more than anything else.
‘That’s the magic of the Mystery Apocalypse.’
Mystery Apocalypse.
Among the two Outer God grimoires that have appeared so far, it was the most famous and the most deadly, the worst grimoire of them all.
“……”
Every grimoire records magic that serves as its symbol. There are a few overlaps, but most famous grimoires store, in detail, magic that only that grimoire can use.
For example, the Lesser Key of Solomon.
The grimoire commonly known as the Lesser Key of Solomon was the only one among all grimoires that could summon Solomon’s 72 demons without much risk. That doesn’t mean other magicians couldn’t summon demons, but they couldn’t do things like protect the summoner or wield the demons almost as though they were under complete control, the way the Lesser Key of Solomon could. Only the Lesser Key of Solomon made that possible.
In addition, there were the Book of Pope Honorius, the Necronomicon, the Book of the Spirit’s Duty, Almandel, the Black Hen, and more.
Grimoires with high renown all possessed their own special magic. Outer God grimoires were no different.
Re-creation magic recorded in the Hand of Re-Creation.
Summoning magic recorded in the Chronicle of the Deep Sea.
By a similar principle, the Mystery Apocalypse likely also had transformation magic recorded in it.
Turning people into mysteries was magic that only the owner of the Mystery Apocalypse could use. There could be no such thing as someone else’s interference. So if Eddie’s words were true, Laplace’s leader definitely possessed an Outer God grimoire.
There was no need to leave it as a guess. Ian immediately asked Eddie about the thought that had come to mind, and Eddie nodded without the slightest hesitation.
[That’s right. He is the owner of an Outer God grimoire.]
The moment the guess turned into certainty. Ian crossed his hands and quietly stared at the two grimoires placed on the table. The two grimoires twisted under his burning gaze as if embarrassed. At least, that was only how it looked to Ian.
Even if Laplace’s leader was a magician who possessed an Outer God grimoire, Ian felt no sense of closeness or kinship toward him. Rather, all he could think about was what kind of influence that existence might have on him.
Maybe they could even have a good relationship. But it was impossible to truly trust a being who was both the head of an organization, a criminal, and someone driven mad by an Outer God grimoire. If possible, it would be best not to get entangled with him from the start.
But Eddie was already dead. Like it or not, it was as good as having laid the groundwork for a connection with Laplace.
Then what mattered was information. Ian turned his head toward Eddie, whose form was beginning to fade, and ordered him to spit out everything he knew about the man named Walter. Eddie faithfully obeyed.
[He is a blond, German-born man. His personality is cruel yet kind, and he tends to pursue pleasure. Because of that, some in Laplace see him as having a split personality. The magic he uses is mystery magic, transformation magic, and ritual magic through pentacles.]
“Hm... grimoire compatibility?”
[I don’t know that much. But everyone other than him went mad the moment they read the contents of the grimoire.]
“……The contents, huh.”
That was another unexpected fact. The grimoires Ian owned refused even other people’s touch, but the Mystery Apocalypse seemed not to be like that. It didn’t seem very principled.
However, separate from that, considering that everyone except Walter went mad after reading its contents, his compatibility didn’t seem all that low. He wasn’t sure if it was 100 percent, but at the very least it looked to be over half. If that weren’t the case, he wouldn’t have been able to use it in the first place.
‘Come to think of it, what standard is compatibility measured by? Is it simply the Outer God’s whim?’
A thought that suddenly came to him. Ian tapped the table with his finger, mulled it over, then realized no answer would come and let out a long breath. Honestly, as long as they didn’t fall into madness, it didn’t really matter.
He didn’t think the grimoires would suddenly roll their eyes and act aggressively. If they were going to do that, they would have done it long ago. It would be absurd for them to suddenly come rushing at him now.
Of course, he wasn’t completely letting his guard down.
It wasn’t impossible for the Outer God’s whim to suddenly change and meddle with the grimoires, was it? He understood that the possibility was extremely low, but it wasn’t zero, so he had no choice but to stay vigilant.
The whims of a god are always frightening. A god from beyond the cosmos was no exception.
Still, judging by the grimoires’ attitude, maybe things would be fine for a while.
Thinking that, Ian stroked the covers of the two grimoires lying on the table.
[Mmm.]
[……Mmm.]
The two books with contrasting colors rubbed against his hand in delight. Chronicle of the Deep Sea still hadn’t fully recovered, so its movements were slower, but even so it was in better shape than before. That was fortunate.
[Walter’s goal is known only to the people closest to him. Still, if I had to guess, I think it would probably be to raise Earth to the next stage.]
Eddie said.
[The continued creation of mysteries. And the spreading of them. Increasing the number of people exposed to mystery little by little. Back when I was alive, I thought he was trying to deeply impress the existence of mystery upon people’s perception of the world and thereby aim for a leap forward for the world.]
“……Is that even possible?”
[Theoretically, yes. But it’s literally only theory, so I don’t know whether it can actually be realized. Anyway, I thought that stuff didn’t matter and that all I needed was to be provided with mystery.......]
“You’re bragging.”
[I’m sorry.]
Eddie bowed his head. Ian let out a heavy sigh and leaned back against the chair.
Advancing the world to the next stage.
Those were words that sounded extraordinarily abstract.
Still, he had some idea of it.
Maybe it was something like imprinting the existence of mystery on everyone, turning all the strange phenomena, ghost stories, and conspiracy theories in the world into reality, and using that to increase the number of the Awakened and make the world even richer... well, something like that.
Of course, it was still only speculation, so he couldn’t be certain.
Eddie also didn’t seem to know Walter’s exact goal. For all he knew, what Walter had said could be complete nonsense.
“......Hoo.”
Ian kept thinking, then let out a long breath and lifted his head.
There was no need to keep clinging to a problem that wouldn’t give him an answer even if he worried about it now. For now, just remember it and move on to the next question. There were only about thirty seconds left anyway.
“Hmm.”
The last question worth asking. After a brief moment of thought, Ian looked up at Eddie and said in a cold voice.
“How did you know my location? Was there a source providing information?”
[I figured out the location myself. However, it is true that I heard from someone else that there was a new grimoire holder in Korea. When I asked whether there was a magician in Korea who had recently obtained a grimoire, they told me for a price.]
“......A magician?”
[That’s right. Someone I had ties with in the past. I don’t know his name, but I do know he’s a worm who can use magic only with the blood of the pure.]
“Hmm... gender?”
[Male. It’s already been several years since he was active in Korea—]
Click.
Eddie’s voice was cut off in the middle, and his faint soul dissolved and scattered like smoke. The time limit had ended.
‘He vanished with knife-like precision.’
Ian twisted his lips into a crooked grimace and flung his body back. The chair bent flexibly and supported him.
It had only been five minutes, but the information he’d obtained was substantial. Just the confirmed information alone amounted to three things: Laplace’s leader, his grimoire, and the informant.
He planned to put anything related to Laplace aside for now. There was no need to stir up trouble for nothing. He still hadn’t even figured out their actual strength, and if possible he didn’t want to get entangled any further. Let them handle the world’s elevation or whatever on their own.
What mattered right now was hunting down the informant. Ian put a cigarette in his mouth while recalling the information about the guy Eddie had mentioned.
“Magician. Male. Has been active in Korea for quite a long time. The spell he uses is ritual magic activated by offering the blood of the pure as a sacrifice....”
They were nothing special on their own, but each trait was fairly significant, so if he thought through it by elimination, he should be able to narrow it down quickly. In any case, it was certain that he was a magician who was part of the community.
It was a fact that didn’t even need much thought. The community magicians Ian had encountered in real life so far had all, unintentionally, been women.
Starting with Lee Seo-ah, Han Yuna, the Godmother, and Kim Yul. Not a single man among them.
In that situation, a man, and a magician at that, had provided information?
No matter how he looked at it, and no matter how he turned it around, there was no explanation unless it had come from the community. Ian hadn’t been walking around bragging that he’d obtained a grimoire, so the guy must have sold the information after seeing the very first post he made.
‘I already knew the community wasn’t full of saints, but getting stabbed in the back this blatantly still doesn’t feel good.’
Ian clicked his tongue and went up to the rooftop, slowly burning a cigarette.
If he wanted to be careful from here on out, he could simply stop using the community. But it would be ridiculous to give up so easily on the only communication hub for Korea’s magicians.
Was it even reasonable to run away from home because one bug got in? Wouldn’t it be more proper to catch the bug and kill it instead?
“Hoo....”
He still hadn’t pinned down the guy’s identity, but that didn’t mean he could leave him alone. It would be better to catch him quickly, take him down, and ensure safety.
Thinking that, Ian immediately took out his phone.
Fortunately, there was one person who could help him with the community. Ian promptly sent her a message.
[Me: Godmother, it seems there is a traitor in the Sacred Magician Club. Are you available now?]
In less than five seconds, a reply came back.
[★Godmother: Please tell me the details.]
At her eager response, Ian let a faint smile touch his lips.