Chapter 96
A black stele fell before Eddie. The massive stone pillar, just over 2 meters tall, glowed and scattered voices in all directions.
[Listen, you sinner.]
Ian instinctively recognized the nature of that Mystery.
The Code of Hammurabi. The ancient Babylonian law code famous for "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth," and notorious for the cruelty and ruthlessness of its judgments. If he just waited for the verdict to come down, one of his limbs would definitely be blown off.
There was no reason to just take it. Ian opened the grimoire he had summoned and recited an incantation.
“The lowly worm crawls up, and the mortal realm grows chaotic. In His name, the world shall be purified.”
Magic is broadly divided into two types: ceremonial magic, which is activated simply by reciting a specific spell or performing an action, and ritual magic, which requires long preparation, magic circles, and materials. These two are the most basic principles behind magic's activation, and the natural order of all aether.
But the magic of the Outer God didn't care about any of that. Magic from beyond the cosmos could be activated in whatever form its master desired; the risks might differ, but the effect did not.
Thanks to that, he could respond even to a surprise attack with no preparation at all.
“Erase it.”
Grrrrrr……!
At Ian's utterance, pure white, candle-wax-like liquid began to drip from the ceiling. Eddie, who had been quietly listening to the law code's verdict, frowned at the flowing liquid.
“Ceremonial magic. No, it's a bit too large-scale to call it that.”
He nimbly backed away, putting distance between himself and the pure-white paint.
The Code of Hammurabi could not do the same. Covered in white in an instant, the law code corroded and melted away without leaving a trace. It was a bit too lackluster an end for something with such a powerful Mystery, but nobody cared.
“What's the grimoire's name?”
Eddie asked as he pulled a bundle of teeth from his pocket. Rather than answer obediently, Ian gave a faint smile and showed him the grimoire's cover.
“If you can read it, go ahead.”
“...Ha.”
A title written in an unknown language. Eddie took out another cigarette, stuck it in his mouth, and threw the teeth he was holding to the floor.
“A big fish.”
Crack-crack!
The teeth cracked like eggs, and tiny creatures crawled out from within.
They were fairy-like winged forms. Their huge heads and, compared to them, tiny bodies made them look more grotesque than cute despite the wings. All of them looked around with bloodshot eyes, gnashing their teeth.
……?
But the Mystery never managed to notice Ian's location and kept circling the same spot. Ian guessed the reason and smiled inwardly.
‘Magic on the coat.’
A spell that kept him out of sight of beings that had lost their reason. The defensive spell had already run its course on the cruise ship, but this spell still remained firmly in place.
“...You fucking bastard.”
Eddie's always-calm expression finally cracked.
He didn't know exactly what means Ian had used, but he felt fury at the fact that his magic had failed to produce proper results twice.
Back when he lived in the Clock Tower, Eddie had been highly regarded as a fairly skilled magician. His mastery of Mysteries was on par with even his own teacher's. It wasn't for nothing that his name had been put forward as a candidate for a seat among the school's elders.
And yet, he himself.
In this tiny East Asian country with no proper magical academy, he was struggling against some trash who'd only just become a magician?
“Ha!”
Eddie let out a bitter laugh at the absurd notion.
“You're lucky, young magician. You seem to have some kind of artifact that keeps you out of Mystery's sight, don't you?”
“...What?”
Ian frowned as if asking what he was talking about. Regardless, Eddie drew a dagger and murmured in a chilly voice.
“No point hiding it. I already figured it out.”
“…….”
“I'll kill you and take the grimoire, along with that artifact. Treasure should go to the one who can make the best use of it, after all.”
It was an outrageously arrogant remark. Ian almost said something, then shut his mouth and calmly sorted out his thoughts.
Ian couldn't tell who the man actually was. Still, if he had to guess, he was probably the magician who'd been controlling the Monkey Hand. He must have figured out Ian's identity through the spell formula left in the Monkey Hand, realized the grimoire existed, and come hunting him in person.
It hadn't been the intended result, but since it had already happened, there was nothing he could do.
If he didn't want to die, he had no choice but to kill.
He'd never killed anyone before, but he didn't feel any resistance to it now. He had already made up his mind when he went out hunting vampires.
Once the other side had bared its teeth first, he wouldn't stop until he'd pulled them all out.
“Record.”
Having sorted out his thoughts, Ian muttered in a calm voice.
There was no exhilaration of battle, no frenzy, no excitement. Those were fruits to be plucked only after victory was almost secured. Right now, he needed to think only of the mechanical method for killing his opponent. Ian was more confident in that than anyone.
“Read.”
Rustle-rustle-rustle!
At Ian's voice, the grimoire's pages turned.
The number of sheets bound into the grimoire was finite, but its pages were not. The contents recorded in this grimoire had no end, and even now blank pages were being born anew, with new magic being written on them.
Those blank pages. Ian had long used the pure white canvas, still untouched by a drop of ink, as a notebook. He recorded the magic circles of spells he'd learned and finished the groundwork so he could use them instantly when needed.
It was his first time deploying them in actual combat, but Ian didn't hesitate and pulled out some of them.
“The law is void before me; the road is wherever I stand.”
The moment he spoke, a dagger flew toward him. He barely dodged it and thrust his foot straight at the wall.
Normally, the instant his foot touched the wall, gravity would win and he'd fall. But Ian planted his foot on the wall without the slightest resistance and stood there as if nothing were wrong.
He sprinted straight up the wall toward Eddie. Frowning at magic he'd never seen before, Eddie bit down on a capsule from his pocket.
Sssshh……!
Thick black smoke billowed out. Within it, insects of unknown origin wriggled while letting out bizarre cries.
He paid it no mind.
The moment Ian's hand touched the smoke, he used re-creation magic to erase the smoke entirely.
The smoke and insects vanished in an instant. Eddie, who'd never expected even this to be so easily dealt with, recoiled in alarm and backed away. Immediately after, pure-white paint burst up from under the spot where he'd been standing.
The amount of liquid rushing back wasn't much, but Eddie, knowing what it could do, felt a chill run down his spine. If even a little had splashed on him, that part of his body would have melted away entirely.
As his thoughts reached that point, Eddie had no choice but to conclude that something was wrong. He decided to be a little more honest with himself.
‘I underestimated him too much.’
He'd dismissed the magician from that tiny corner of Asia, a place utterly unrelated to magic, as a complete idiot. No, the guy probably really was an idiot—but he was a little less of one than expected. It had been too much to expect to ambush him with only the bare minimum of preparation.
Of course, he'd considered everything he needed to. Since this was a residential area, he'd waited until Ian came out of the house, and he'd even selected a Mystery specifically to make sure he finished him off.
But all of it was meaningless. To make sure he won, he needed to retreat first and attack again.
“Kgh!”
Judgment was swift, and action was even swifter. The moment Ian began reciting a new spell, Eddie slashed across his own palm with the dagger in his hand, drawing blood.
The blood spread. Eddie took it into his mouth and swallowed it, then shouted.
“Bogeyman!”
The moment he spoke, an arm like rotten flesh burst from Eddie's mouth and slammed down over his body from top to bottom. But Eddie's body didn't burst; it vanished as if it were being absorbed into the floor.
He fled. Ian stopped the spell he had been about to use, let out a sigh, climbed down from the wall, and closed the grimoire.
‘Quick to run, for someone who came out of nowhere to ambush me.’
He clicked his tongue and approached the spot where Eddie had been standing. When the neighboring door suddenly flew open, he kicked it shut and carefully dabbed his finger into the blood pooled on the floor.
‘No need to let him get away.’
Ian went back home for a moment, grabbed a bottle, and carefully collected the blood pooled on the floor.
Though there wasn't much of it, it was enough. He immediately poured the blood into the compass he'd made beforehand.
Squeak-squeak!
The compass greedily devoured the flowing blood. The needle was dyed red in an instant, and the blood pooled at the center pulsed like a heartbeat, making the needle spin.
Before long, the compass needle locked onto the E pole. Ian smiled faintly, put the compass in his pocket, smashed the CCTV mounted in the hallway, and went home.
Now that he'd decided to kill, he had to see it through completely. A dog that bares its teeth should be stripped of its limbs in the end. He couldn't leave even the slightest trouble behind.
So he prepared thoroughly. Thinking that, Ian slung a bag full of alchemical supplies over his shoulder, packed two grimoires and a pistol, grabbed his cigarettes, and left the house.
And he started walking, following the compass.