“There is a title called Godslayer.”
Rea said.
She sat at the same table as Ian, pouring hydrochloric acid into a beaker with a splash. The anatomical model standing behind her twitched its shoulders.
“It’s a moniker that appears quite often. One who kills a god. A title created to praise that grand achievement. Well, since anyone can claim to be a Godslayer, the word itself is rather weak, but even so, there have been a few who actually toppled gods.”
Croak, croak.
A frog trapped inside the beaker flailed as it touched the hydrochloric acid.
A frog that continued to move even though its organs had already all fallen out.
Naturally, it was a type of ghost story. The frog born from a frog dissection experiment possessed the ability to dominate others’ minds through its croaking, making them slit their own bellies, but unfortunately, Ian had a body immune to mental domination. Seoa had endured this much as well.
Rea? Was there even any need to explain?
“They exist on Earth too, right? Beings who killed a god.”
“……Kratos?”
“……Who is that? I meant Longinus.”
Sizzle.
Before long, the frog had melted into a squelching state in the hydrochloric acid. After shaking in the very last drop, Rea placed the beaker, now flowing with green and red liquid, on top of the desk.
“Strictly speaking, the one called ‘Jesus’ appearing in Christianity isn’t a god. But if you dig through history, he’s the closest thing to one.”
“……You’re quite well-versed in Earth’s history too.”
“Thanks to someone, I studied alone a bit. It wasn’t very fun, though.”
Clink.
Rea moved the beaker to the corner of the table. In the corner, the corpses of frogs that had died in the same manner were already lined up inside beakers.
It was a cruel scene, but he didn’t pity or sympathize with them. Ian’s heart wasn’t deep enough to give emotions to the supernatural. The only important thing was that the “dissection frog” ghost story had been resolved. He took a long gulp of the cold water he had brought and leaned back against the chair.
When Rea sat beside him, a faint scent of hyacinth spread out. At a glance, it also seemed to carry a sweet, milky fragrance.
“Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that in the end, even gods can die. Outer Gods are no exception.”
“……I already know you destroyed the moon. I’m well aware of that.”
“Then I’m glad. You must also know that I’m not an immortal being.”
“…….”
“Do you understand why you should cherish me?”
“I can’t really imagine anyone killing you, but……”
Ian smiled bitterly as he looked around.
The school’s science lab.
Inside a sealed room filled with a cold and bleak atmosphere, Ian, Seoa, and Rea sat gathered around the same table. The rest were all energetically grabbing their own bellies and slitting them open, pouring out organs and blood in streams.
A show-and-tell of organs in the most literal sense. It was the result of hearing the frog’s croaking directly. The students without resistance had all furiously stabbed their abdomens and chests with scissors, box cutters, glass shards, and the like. Thanks to that, red spider lilies bloomed in all directions.
Even among the supernatural, those without resistance ended up like that. It seemed the law of the jungle applied even among them.
It wasn’t a strange thing.
“What you’re trying to say is that even an Outer God can eventually die, and the same goes for the master of the grimoire that created this space, right?”
“Exactly. You’ve spared me the trouble of explaining.”
Rea answered, unfastening the top button of her shirt as if her chest felt a bit tight. Seoa stared at her blankly, then lowered her head slightly.
“…….”
Her expression twisted as if she was in a foul mood.
“I’ll skip over the grimoire’s appearance since that fish explained it. You’d be more curious about ‘why such things happened due to the grimoire’s appearance’ than that anyway.”
Rea lightly brushed her hair aside with her hand, fixing her gaze on Ian.
“The reason is simpler than you think. It’s because the grimoire was forcibly released even though it wasn’t completed yet.”
“……Released.”
“‘Release,’ ‘freeing,’ ‘letting loose’—there are many words to replace it, but they all mean similar things. It was simply sent out in a hurry, and the supernatural latched onto it.”
Rustle—a portion of snow-white hair fell over the back of Ian’s hand like snow.
“Originally, the grimoires we write are impossible to touch or read except by permitted individuals. Even if it’s the same Outer God, you must be prepared for a certain amount of damage.”
“…….”
“But all of this is based on a completed grimoire. A grimoire that isn’t even finished writing is inevitably weak. It is a bit strange that it can’t shake off the ghost story parasitizing it, but it’s not something that absolutely cannot happen.”
“Then, if we just find and dispose of that grimoire, we can get out of here?”
“Yes. If left alone, it will probably gradually grow stronger, completely devour the ghost story, and leave to find its master. What happens to the people inside the ghost story is obvious.”
It was truly obvious. They would simply become part of the grimoire and vanish.
“Then aren’t you in danger too?”
“If it tries to eat me, it’ll instead suffer a backlash and die.”
She answered with a composed expression.
“I don’t know the grimoire’s name since it’s a newborn, but I know the Outer God’s name. It’s a god called the Shackles of the Recluse—a bitch that latched onto me several times and had its limbs torn off. There’s no way something like that could eat me and survive.”
Ian held a bitter smile at her voice, which didn’t hold the slightest hint of worry.
“Yeah, I understand for now. Anyway, this farce ends as long as we find the grimoire.”
“Easier said than done. All sorts of ghost stories will probably struggle desperately to stop you. Whatever the reason, the grimoire is the very source that allowed them to take form, so they’ll do everything to protect it.”
“We can’t just sit still, though. We have to do something.”
“That is true. Thankfully, you have that human by your side.”
Rea’s gaze turned toward Seoa. Seoa, who had been lightly ignoring the frog’s mental domination, flinched at her gaze. But she didn’t show any reaction of lowering her head or being frightened.
“Hmph.”
Perhaps it aroused her interest; Rea snorted and crossed her legs. Though by interest, it was at best no more than a tiny insect refusing to flee and raising its antennae.
“Shall we take this opportunity to see what magic humans designed and developed themselves? Most school ghost stories are closer to ghosts than monsters, so that woman’s magic should have quite good compatibility.”
“……What are you planning to—”
“Don’t answer my words. Even humans hate the sound of insects chirping, don’t they? It’s exactly like that, so just listen. They say quiet dogs are more popular than dogs who bark.”
“…….”
Seoa pressed her lips shut. Ian confirmed that her expression was turning sour and let out a deep sigh.
“……Rea, I know how you think of humans other than me, but I’d appreciate it if you didn’t express it right now.”
“That’s a difficult request. But since it’s your request, I’ll try.”
“That’s enough.”
Ian answered roughly and turned to look at Seoa. Rea placed her hand on his thigh and stroked it to divert his gaze, but Ian lightly ignored it.
“You can handle the things making up the school ghost stories yourself, right?”
“……It’s not a difficult task. Actually, I’m secretly running a reconnaissance unit right now.”
Seoa answered, pulling out a glass bottle filled with bone powder from her pocket.
The bottle was filled with her blood. The bone powder swam wildly within that red liquid.
“There are roughly fifteen ghost stories observed so far. Listing the famous ones: Hanako of the Bathroom, Kunekune, Red Toilet Paper, Blackout Broadcast, Beethoven, Nurse’s Office Surgery, Mass Suicide Classroom, and so on. There are a lot. They’re all basically ghosts.”
“…….”
“They’re the best for collecting.”
She smiled hazily and shook the bottle. The blood inside surged left and right, and along with it, the laughter of evil spirits could be heard from the surroundings.
“Let’s move once the sun sets. There are fewer eyes watching after school than now, so it’ll be easier to move around.”
Ian nodded. He tapped the table with his fingers and quietly stared at the beaker containing the frog.
‘I have no intention of obtaining another grimoire. Two is already too many.’
There is a saying that more is better, and another that excess is as bad as deficiency. If I were to hold another Outer God’s grimoire here, it would definitely be excess.
It might be fine if I controlled it, but that would definitely require a lot of effort. I’d have to run around here and there in many ways.
However…… as a magician, it was inevitable to feel greed.
New magic, an unfinished grimoire of an Outer God swimming through the universe. I was extremely curious about what knowledge was written there, what symbolic magic it contained. It would be right to dispose of it rather than let it fall into another’s hands, but I also thought that rather than disposing of it, perhaps it would be better to take it for myself.
‘Though the Master of the Outer Sea and Rea might throw a fit, the final decision lies with me.’
Tap, tap.
He organized his thoughts by rhythmically tapping the table. Seoa was in the process of selecting the evil spirits she would use, and Rea quietly observed Ian with an expressionless face.
He did so for quite a while.
‘Alright.’
Ian made his decision.
‘If the compatibility is one hundred percent, I’ll take it. If not, I’ll dispose of it.’
Outer God grimoires basically accompanied madness. But if the compatibility was perfect, the side effect was practically nonexistent. Just as with the Hands of Re-creation and the Chronicles of the Deep Sea, if the new grimoire also had one hundred percent compatibility, owning it wouldn’t cause madness.
Ninety-nine percent? I’d discard it without hesitation. There were no exceptions below that either. Since I already possessed two grimoires close to perfection, there was no reason to bring in a new member while shouldering that risk.
‘And even if the compatibility is high, I’ll need to think further if it doesn’t approach me first. There’s no guarantee that the Shackles of the Recluse will be as friendly to me as the other two.’
They were quite strict conditions, but that was precisely why he needed to act with even more caution. If he made a wrong move, he could lose his mind; it wasn’t something he could approach carelessly.
And…… if the grimoire here passed all these conditions and became his third grimoire. The relationship with the other two Outer Gods would…….
“Hmm.”
Well, wouldn’t that be something theywould have to sort out themselves?
It definitely wasn’t his problem to worry about.
Ian thought so and nodded.