[Name: Eddie Junior Howard. The magic I handle is mystery magic; I was born in England, my father is a doctor, and my mother is a writer—]
“Enough. Are you a magician affiliated with Laplace?”
Ian cut him off and spat out the question. Eddie’s soul hesitated for a moment before answering.
[That is correct.]
“Your position?”
[There is no such thing in Laplace. Also, if I had to define it, I was closer to being a hireling than a full-time employee.]
“Hmm.”
[The role I was entrusted with was to nurture the power of the Mystery I was provided with. And to rule over that Mystery.]
“……Provided with a Mystery?”
Ian’s brow furrowed. He had heard something similar before.
The cruise ship that had turned into something like a game. Hadn’t the captain said that the USB that caused it had also been provided to him by someone?
He had buried it in his memory for a while because he had no means of investigating further. But now that an opportunity had presented itself, there was no need to leave it there. Ian personally dug up his own memories and leaned his upper body slightly forward.
“Who provided it to you?”
[The head of Laplace, Walter. He is a magician capable of turning those he personally kills into Mysteries.]
“……What?”
Turning dead people into Mysteries.
A story about a magician he had read about so many times it was beyond familiar. Others might not care much, but to Ian, it was a piece of past history more important than anything else.
‘That’s the magic of the Apocalypse of Mysteries.’
The Apocalypse of Mysteries.
Among the two Outer God grimoires that had appeared so far, it was the worst grimoire—the most famous, and the one that had caused the greatest number of casualties.
“…….”
Every grimoire had a symbolic magic recorded within it. It wasn’t as though there were no overlapping parts at all, but most famous grimoires contained, in detail, magic that only that grimoire could use.
For example, the Lemegeton.
That grimoire, also commonly called the Lesser Key of Solomon, was the only one among all grimoires that could summon the 72 Demons of Solomon without significant risk. It wasn’t that other magicians couldn’t summon demons, but they couldn’t do things like protect the summoner or wield the demons as though they had them almost completely under control, the way the Lemegeton did. Only the Lemegeton made that possible.
Aside from that, there were the Grimoire of Pope Honorius, the Necronomicon, the Book of the Offices of Spirits, the Almadel, the Black Pullet, and so on.
Every grimoire with a lofty name possessed its own special magic. The Outer God grimoires were no different.
The re-creation magic recorded in the Hand of Re-Creation.
The summoning magic recorded in the Deep-Sea Travelogue.
By a similar principle, the Apocalypse of Mysteries likely contained transformation magic.
Turning people into Mysteries was magic only the owner of the Apocalypse of Mysteries could use. There could be no interference from anyone else. Therefore, if Eddie’s words were true, it was certain that the head of Laplace possessed an Outer God grimoire.
There was no need to leave it as mere conjecture. Ian immediately asked Eddie about the thought that had occurred to him, and Eddie nodded without the slightest hesitation.
[It is true. He is an owner who possesses an Outer God grimoire.]
It was the moment conjecture turned into certainty. Ian crossed his hands and quietly stared at the two grimoires placed on the table. The two grimoires twisted their bodies as though embarrassed by his heated gaze. Strictly speaking, that was only from Ian’s perspective.
Just because the head of Laplace was a magician who possessed an Outer God grimoire, Ian did not feel even a shred of familiarity or kinship toward him. Rather, all he could think about was what sort of influence that person might have on him.
Perhaps he could form a good relationship with him. But it was impossible to sincerely trust someone who was the head of an organization, a criminal, and also possessed the madness caused by an Outer God grimoire. If possible, it would be best not to get involved with him from the start.
But he had already killed Eddie. Whether he liked it or not, it was as good as a path connecting him to Laplace had been laid.
In that case, what mattered was information. Ian turned his head toward Eddie, whose form was beginning to grow increasingly faint, and ordered him to spit out everything he knew about the man named Walter. Eddie faithfully obeyed that command.
[He is a blond man born in Germany. His personality is both cruel and benevolent, and he tends to pursue pleasure. Because of that, some within Laplace view him as having a split personality. The magic he uses is mystery magic, transformation arts, and ritual magic through pentacles.]
“Hmm…… What about his grimoire compatibility?”
[I do not know that much. However, every magician other than him went mad the moment they read the grimoire’s contents.]
“……They read the contents, huh.”
This was another unexpected fact. The grimoires Ian owned refused even the touch of others, but it seemed the Apocalypse of Mysteries was not like that. It didn’t seem to be particularly faithful.
However, apart from that, seeing as those other than Walter had gone mad after reading the contents, his compatibility did not seem that low. He didn’t know whether it was 100 percent, but it seemed certain that it was at least over half. To begin with, if it weren’t, he wouldn’t have been able to use it.
‘Now that I think about it, by what standard is compatibility determined? Is it simply the Outer God’s preference?’
A sudden question arose. Ian tapped the table with his finger and pondered, then realized no answer would come and let out a long breath. Honestly, as long as he didn’t fall into madness, it didn’t matter much.
He didn’t think the grimoires would suddenly roll their eyes back 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 at him now.
Of course, he would not let his guard down completely.
There was always the possibility that an Outer God’s mind might suddenly change and it might try something with a grimoire, wasn’t there? He recognized that the possibility was remarkably low, but it was not nonexistent, so he had no choice but to remain wary.
The whims of gods were always frightening. That did not change just because they were gods of the outer universe.
Still, well, judging by the grimoires’ attitudes, he thought it would probably be fine for the time being.
Thinking that, Ian stroked the covers of the two grimoires placed on the table.
[Woooong.]
[……Woong.]
The two books, each possessing contrasting colors, rubbed their bodies against his hand, enjoying his touch. The Deep-Sea Travelogue’s movements were sluggish, perhaps because it had not fully recovered its condition yet, but it was still better than before. That was a relief.
[No one knows Walter’s goal except for his closest aides. However, if I were to speculate, I think it is probably to raise Earth’s stage by one level.]
Eddie said.
[The fact that he continues to create Mysteries. The fact that he distributes them. The fact that he is steadily increasing the number of people exposed to Mysteries, and so on. In life, I thought he might be aiming for the world’s leap by deeply impressing the existence of Mysteries into people’s awareness.]
“……Is that even possible?”
[In theory, it is possible. But it is exactly that—theory—so I do not know whether it can be realized. In any case, I did not care about such things and only thought that it would be fine as long as I was provided with Mysteries……]
“How impressive.”
[My apologies.]
Eddie lowered his head. Ian let out a deep sigh and leaned his body against the back of his chair.
Raising the world’s stage.
It sounded like an extremely abstract phrase.
However, he had a rough sense of it.
Imprinting the existence of Mysteries on everyone, actualizing every anomaly, urban legend, and conspiracy theory that existed in the world, and through that, increasing the number of Eye-Openers to make the world richer…… Perhaps it was roughly that kind of logic.
Of course, it was still at the stage of speculation, so he could not be certain.
Eddie also seemed unaware of Walter’s exact goal. It was possible that everything he had said was complete nonsense.
“……Phew.”
Ian continued thinking, then let out a long breath and raised his head.
There was no need to keep clinging to a problem that would not yield an answer no matter how much he worried about it now. For the moment, he would simply remember it and move on to the next question. There were only about 30 seconds left now.
“Mm.”
A question suitable for the last one. Ian thought for a moment, then looked up at Eddie and spoke in a cold voice.
“You. How did you know my location? Was there an informant?”
[I determined your location myself. However, it is true that I heard from another person that there was a new grimoire owner in Korea. When I asked whether there was a magician who had recently obtained a grimoire in Korea, he told me in exchange for money.]
“……A magician?”
[That is correct. He is someone I had a connection with in the past. I do not know his name, but I do know that he is a piece of filth who can only use magic with the blood of the pure.]
“Hmm…… Gender?”
[Male. It has already been several years since he began operating in Korea—]
Snap.
Eddie’s voice cut off midway, and at the same time, his faint soul melted away like smoke and scattered. The time limit had ended.
‘He vanishes right on the dot.’
Ian twisted his lips crookedly and threw his body backward. The chair bent flexibly and supported his body.
It had been a short five minutes, but the information he had obtained was still considerable. Just the certain information alone amounted to three things: the head of Laplace, his grimoire, and the informant.
For the time being, he intended to set matters related to Laplace aside. There was no need to needlessly scratch and cause trouble. Not only had he yet to grasp their full strength, but if possible, he also did not want to get any more involved with them. Whatever this raising of the world’s stage was, they could deal with it themselves.
What mattered immediately was tracking down and killing the informant. Ian recalled the information Eddie had given about the bastard and placed a cigarette between his lips.
“A magician. Male. Has been active in Korea for quite some time. The spell he uses is ritual magic activated by offering the blood of the pure as a sacrifice……”
They weren’t particularly special characteristics, but each one was rather substantial, so if he thought in terms of elimination, he figured he would be able to narrow it down quickly. In any case, it was certain that he was a magician who had joined the community.
It was a fact that did not require deep thought. The community magicians Ian had encountered in reality so far, though unintentionally, had all been women.
Starting with Lee Seo-a, then Han Yuna, the Godmother, and Kim Yul. There had not been a single man.
In that situation, a man—and a magician at that—had provided information?
No matter how he looked at it, even if he turned it upside down, there was no explanation unless the information had been found through the community. It wasn’t as though Ian had gone around announcing that he had obtained a grimoire, so the bastard must have seen that first post he had made and sold the information.
‘I knew long ago that the community wasn’t made up only of good people, but it still doesn’t feel great to be stabbed in the back this blatantly.’
Ian clicked his tongue and went up to the rooftop, where he slowly smoked a cigarette.
If he wanted to be careful going forward, he could simply stop using the community. But it would also be absurd to so easily give up the only place of communication for magicians in Korea.
Was it reasonable to run away from home just because a single insect had crawled in? Wouldn’t it be more proper to catch and kill that insect instead?
“Phew……”
He had not yet identified the bastard, but that did not mean he could leave him alone. It would be better to quickly catch him, break him, and secure his own safety.
Thinking that, Ian immediately took out his phone.
Fortunately, there was one person who could help him regarding the community. Ian promptly sent her a private message.
[Me: Godmother, it seems a traitor has appeared in the Sacred Magician Club. Are you available to talk right now?]
A reply came back in less than five seconds.
[★Godmother: Please tell me the details.]
At her proactive attitude, Ian wore a faint smile.