Being drunk on the moon’s madness did not grant one the power of immortality. The man’s head, struck squarely by the bullet Cecilia had fired, burst like a balloon. Blood and brain matter sprayed in every direction, and the evil spirits cackled at the slaughter that had erupted in the tunnel.
He ignored it. Ian gritted his teeth at the gunshot that had gone off right beside his ear and steadied his staggering body.
Beeeeeeeeeeep—
Perhaps his eardrum had suffered slight damage, because a ringing began in his ears. His hearing had not gone numb, but it was a little difficult to keep his balance.
He ignored that too. The situation did not allow him the luxury of complaining.
Kwaaaang! Kwaaaaang!
Even after blowing the man’s skull apart, Cecilia continued to pull the trigger. Ian endured it as best he could, then, when it seemed impossible to go on, took out his lighter and ignited it.
Whoosh!
The flame of the lighter cleanly devoured the surrounding noise. But the tinnitus ringing in his head did not stop, and his stumbling steps remained precarious.
He ignored it to the end. Clenching his molars hard enough to shatter them, Ian broke through the lunging denizens of the moon and ran out of the tunnel. He nearly slipped on the entrails underfoot, but barely managed to regain his balance.
“Ugh!”
The moment light entered Cecilia’s vision, she squeezed her eyes shut. She had been told that she must not look at the moon. She clung to Ian’s body again and focused only on his warmth. The smell of blood and gunpowder rushed deep into her nose.
“Haaah……! Haaah……!”
He kept running down the road stretching straight ahead. There were at most only one or two things chasing from behind, but the enormous moon floating in the sky continued to drift directly above him. Like some kind of eye, it fixed its gaze only on Ian and flew through space with lofty grace.
It was fucked beyond words. Spitting curses, Ian moved his feet toward the bike that had come into view.
‘If I’d known this would happen, I should’ve made the Veil of the Mortal World instead of the Soul-Holding Chalice……!’
The Veil of the Mortal World allowed one to slip between the Otherworld and the present world and conceal oneself. It was perfectly suited to the current situation, but he did not have the finished item, or even the materials. Making it on the spot was impossible.
It was too late to regret it now.
If he had known this would happen, he would have made it? He hadn’t made it because he hadn’t known this would happen.
There was nothing to gain from blaming himself, so Ian neatly sorted out his thoughts and mounted the bike. He seated Cecilia behind him as well.
Vroooom!
He started the engine and pulled the throttle without hesitation. The gears, shifting automatically to match his speed, shot rapidly up to third, then fourth.
“Go on autonomous driving. Destination is…… home, or the officetel. Or the Administration Bureau building.”
[Setting complete. Initiating full autonomous driving.]
The bike advanced along the route it had set for itself.
Vroooooom!!!
At the same time, a truck driving the wrong way came racing down the road. The owner of the truck, barreling straight toward Ian from the opposite direction, stomped on the accelerator with a gloomy expression.
It was proof that the moon’s madness had spread not only to the village, but elsewhere as well. Ian clicked his tongue and firmly held Cecilia’s hands around his waist so they would not come loose. Then he twisted the throttle all the way.
With a roar, the bike hurtled madly toward the truck. At that speed, it would not have been strange for his body to be crushed flat and killed on impact. But there was no fear to be found on Ian’s face.
Because he knew. He knew what magic had been cast on this bike.
Kwagagagak!
At the moment of collision, the bike placed its front wheel squarely on the truck’s front bumper, then moved sideways as if racing along a wall and glided smoothly past.
It was an act that openly ignored gravity. Thanks to that, Ian succeeded in returning to the road without any particular shock. He looked back at the truck speeding away in the opposite direction and curled his lips into a sardonic smile.
“Don’t drive like shit, you Outer God bastard!”
Screeeeech!!
As if it had taken his words as provocation, the truck rapidly swung into a drift and began charging toward Ian. But in the end, it was still a truck. It was not fast enough to keep up with the bike.
After confirming the distance steadily widening between them, Ian took out his phone. The signal that had not connected inside the village began to return as they drew closer to the city.
Ding.
At the same time, countless messages poured in.
[Godmother: Mr. Ian, the situation is not good right now. Are you outside Seoul? Please tell me you are. The sky right now…….]
[Godmother: I don’t think I can hold out much longer either. I keep hearing a song. A song, a song. The moon is you…….]
[Godmother: The moon feels beautiful. The more it does, the more the gloom in my heart grows. As one final act, toward the moon, I will summon a demon…….]
[Godmother: The attack failed. Ah, I don’t think I can endure any longer. I’ll say goodbye here.]
[Godmother: If there is an afterlife, may we meet again.]
[Han Yuna: I-Ian! Ian! Something’s wrong with me! A song, I keep hearing a song! What is this? From speakers I didn’t even turn on…….]
[Han Yuna: Ah. An announcement just went up on the community. It says not to look at the moon. I guess there’s something wrong with the moon. Are you okay? I already…….]
[Han Yuna: Mm. Dying is scary, but it’s okay. It’s better than becoming something that isn’t me.]
[Han Yuna: I’ll say it because it’s now. Honestly, back then, when you pretended to be my boyfriend, my heart fluttered a little. Hehe.]
[Han Yuna: See you tomorrow.]
[Lee Seoa: Ian.]
[Lee Seoa: The Busan Administration Bureau has been annihilated. They suddenly started fighting among themselves, and that was the end. Absurdly enough, this is the truth. I…….]
[Lee Seoa: I’m in the subway right now, and Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star is playing from the speakers. Listening to it over and over is driving me insane.]
[Lee Seoa: I saw the community. The situation’s gotten really fucking awful. I was going to solve only the school ghost story and go up to Seoul, but what is this…….]
[Lee Seoa: Ian, you’re okay, right? Why aren’t you reading this? Did you already die?]
[Lee Seoa: Ahaha. I guess that could be. It’s okay. I’ll follow you now.]
[Lee Seoa: Let’s be friends next time too!]
Ian’s face twisted violently as he checked the string of messages. He gripped his phone hard enough to break it and looked up at the moon.
“You fucking bastard…….”
Mages were the sort of people who loathed having their minds taken over by another to a vicious degree. They were the kind who thought it was better to kill themselves than have their egos stolen. That was what mages were. So there was no need to think deeply about what actions they had actually taken.
Ian always valued and cherished his own safety above all else, but that did not mean he was such a piece of shit that he could not grieve or grow angry over another person’s death. Ian felt the impulse to bring that moon crashing down at once and crush it to pieces.
But…… but yes. Right now, he had no proper means. Until he found one, he had no choice but to hold his breath and remain still.
Even if the world ended, even if the end was wretched beyond measure. That thing, at least, he would kill without fail.
“……..”
Making that vow, Ian lowered his head again.
The more he felt something boiling up inside him, the more calmly his mind settled. He checked the very last message, a transmission sent under Kim Iseo’s name, and let out a long breath.
[Kim Iseo: Mage, an Outer God has descended. It appeared before even the Prophet noticed. It is one of the apocalypse scenarios I told you about…….]
[Kim Iseo: Requesting immediate support. I repeat. Requesting immediate support. Please answer your phone.]
[Kim Iseo: Ah.]
[Kim Iseo: Support impossible. It’s over. Do not come to the Administration Bureau building. Mysteries intoxicated by the moon have escaped the quarantine zones.]
[Kim Iseo: Thank you for your hard work.]
[Kim Iseo: We are heading to the Administration Bureau’s central center for the final operation.]
[Kim Iseo: May there be rest for you, Mage.]
[Kim Iseo: If you are still alive, I apologize.]
It was a message that had arrived only three minutes ago. Since roughly thirty minutes had passed since the moon had begun acting in earnest, that meant it had occupied the Administration Bureau at a truly astonishing speed. Even an institution fighting desperately for the preservation of humanity could not resist the hand of the god swimming through the cosmos.
Still, judging by the words “final operation,” it seemed they did have some kind of measure.
Perhaps it was a regression device, or perhaps they would fire the spear that slew gods. Even now, the Spear of Longinus was vibrating as it thirsted for divine blood.
Whatever it was, all Ian could do was wish them rest, just as Kim Iseo had done for him.
He tossed aside the phone he no longer needed, put a cigarette in his mouth, and took out two grimoires, opening them. The moon, having confirmed no fewer than two grimoires of Outer Gods, trembled briefly, but Ian ignored it and turned the pages, checking whether there was any magic that could break through the present situation.
Even at a speed exceeding 200 kilometers per hour, the grimoires turned their pages smoothly without the slightest flutter.
And then both stopped on a single page at the same time.
On the pages that opened with a soft rustle, only brief explanations were written.
[Summoning]
[Calls forth the author of this grimoire, the Reconstruction of All Things.]
[Material: Death.]
[Descent]
[The Master of the Outer Sea descends. The price is the life of the current owner of this grimoire.]
Ian’s face hardened slightly as he confirmed the contents.
At that moment, new words were engraved beneath the Hand of Re-creation.
[Trust.]
“…….”
Ian bit his lip lightly.