Ian and his group left the hotel with the lantern lit. As a result, the armed agents of the Administration Bureau were neutralized the moment they appeared, tumbling to the floor.
It seemed they had brought more personnel than expected, but the mere scent of the lantern’s oil plunged them all into hallucinations... so they posed little real threat.
The only real threat was the snipers, but that was easily handled by moving underground.
In any case, the snipers were currently focused on Irene and her group, who had jumped from the hotel, so Ian and Alisa walked very comfortably into the underground parking lot without a single confrontation. They got into Alisa’s parked car and started the engine.
Vroom.
The black SUV vibrated, emitting a deep exhaust note. Just before setting off, Ian used a spell from the passenger seat.
“His shadow covers me. O inferior sons, you shall not see me.”
Sizzle.
He placed blood, a piece of the aberrant’s flesh, and a black cloth upon the magic circle and chanted the incantation. Then the magic circle and materials all evaporated.
Confirming the spell had activated properly, Ian leaned back against the seat.
“It’s an invisibility spell. Even if we drive out in the open, we won’t be tracked.”
“Aren’t you a bit too skilled at too many things?”
Alisa chuckled in disbelief and pressed a button next to the steering wheel. The license plate clicked as it changed, and she stepped on the accelerator to exit the parking lot.
The road they naturally merged onto had very few cars. It was the time when the sun was slanting low, and fortunately, it seemed most traffic had already passed.
……
Ian rested his chin on his hand and stared out the window at the twilight glow. Beyond the swiftly passing scenery, the sun peeked shyly as it began to hide. The spring-fresh azure sky was gradually being dyed crimson. It was obvious that it would soon be stained black.
‘About six hours left until midnight.’
He glanced at the car’s clock.
5:51 PM. It was a bit early for the sun to set, but not so leisurely that they could laugh and chatter. To deny Irene time to prepare thoroughly, there was a need to kill her before midnight.
‘I won’t make Irene a slave. Even if I caught her, she’d only live for five more years, and by next year she’d be half a corpse. There’s no reason to use a slave like that.’
Moreover, Irene’s magic inevitably had to use civilians. On top of that, it was practically impossible for her to control it, and the civilian casualties were severe compared to the spell’s effectiveness.
Her nature was fundamentally different from Mariang, who could subsist solely on mysteries by her own will.
Irene was beyond correction. Unless her entire magic system was overhauled, bringing her over as an ally would only increase unnecessary sacrifices.
And if ordered to use her magic in a humane way, its efficiency would drop even further than it is now. Then she would lose all usefulness.
‘Either way, forcing a contract with her won’t be much help. It’s much better to just kill her.’
Ian, both in the past and now, had no intention of abandoning even the minimum of humanity.
If he had wanted to become a mad mage, he wouldn’t have gone through the ridiculous farce of eating dirt just to handle an outer god’s grimoire. He would have just let things flow as they would.
Even murderers, if they showed any chance of reform, could be accepted as allies. But there was no need to carry those who couldn’t be reformed.
“Where to?”
While he was thinking, Alisa asked. Ian glanced back at Holmes, who had already fallen fast asleep, and brushed the clotted blood from his hair as he answered.
“Let’s go to my place. Hand over the wheel.”
“Hmm... fine. But don’t get into an accident. This is expensive.”
“As if.”
Ian scoffed.
A short while later, they stopped on the shoulder, and Alisa, having handed over the wheel, took out a sleep mask as soon as she sat in the passenger seat.
“Huh.”
Ian let out a dry laugh at the sight. But he didn’t wake her. There was no need to wake her up just to show her the route to his house.
‘That’s fine by me.’
Ian put in his earbuds, played some random song, and stepped on the accelerator.
After driving for a long time, they arrived at his house. Ian turned off the engine and tapped Alisa’s shoulder.
“Wake up. We’re here.”
“Mm... already...?”
“It’s already been 30 minutes. Get out. Bring Holmes yourself.”
Ian unbuckled his seatbelt and entered the house first. At the same time, Amelia came down the stairs from the second floor with quick little steps.
“Ah, oppa. You’re later than I thought.”
“It just turned out that way. Were you meditating well?”
Ian smiled faintly and tossed the coat he was holding roughly onto the sofa. Amelia was fiddling with her wind-tousled hair as she came down to the first floor, then her eyes widened when she saw his whole body soaked in blood.
“O-oppa! Blood! Blood...!”
“Ah, don’t worry. It’s not my blood.”
“How can I not worry! Ugh, wait a moment!”
Amelia hurried into the bathroom and brought back a towel soaked with hot water. In the meantime, Holmes and Alisa entered the house. Amelia checked their faces and flinched in surprise.
“Ahhh! Intruders! Oppa, intruders!”
“...Let’s calm down a bit first, shall we, Amelia?”
With a bitter smile, Ian personally calmed her trembling form.
Five minutes later, after hearing a rough explanation, Amelia sat next to Ian and murmured.
“So... those two people—no, one person and one aberrant—are your colleagues who are working with you to resolve things?”
“Something like that. It’s temporary, but we’re traveling together for now.”
“I see...”
She trailed off, staring at the two seated across from her, then hesitantly lowered her head.
“I’m sorry. I was so flustered that I was rude...”
“It’s fine. I don’t care about that.”
Alisa said. She stared at Amelia while wiping the blood from her face with a wet wipe.
“More importantly, you’re Eric’s granddaughter, right? I think I’ve seen you in a photo.”
“Ah, yes, that’s right. Are you an acquaintance of my grandfather?”
“Not really an acquaintance, just met him a few times. We’re not close.”
“Oh.”
“I saw the photo by chance, too. Eric never showed it to me directly.”
Having said that, Alisa tilted her head crookedly.
“But why is Eric’s granddaughter here? I know Eric’s injured, but that doesn’t mean you have to be here.”
“That’s...”
Amelia trailed off and glanced at Ian. She was asking for permission to reveal the teacher-student relationship. Ian chuckled and placed a hand on her head.
“Amelia is my disciple. There were circumstances that led to that.”
“Disciple?”
Alisa’s eyes widened. Then, without thinking, she muttered to herself.
“But the magic you use... Ah.”
She stopped talking and eyed Ian cautiously.
The meaning behind her words was obvious. It was the common-sense question of how a mage who uses outer god magic could have a disciple.
He didn’t recall ever saying he possessed an outer god’s grimoire, but she seemed to have deduced and settled on it on her own. Perhaps she heard Irene’s words during the battle.
Whatever the case, it wasn’t exactly welcome news for Ian. But it wasn’t a serious enough matter to silence her by killing her either.
In the first place, there were already three or four people who knew almost for certain that Ian possessed an outer god’s grimoire, and all of them were still breathing. It was natural, since they had never bared their teeth at him.
What mattered wasn’t the outer god’s grimoire, but the attitude after learning the information. If Alisa came charging in to obtain the grimoire, that would be one thing, but otherwise there was no need to sharpen his blade first.
So Ian took a long gulp of water from the table and changed the subject.
“That’s enough of the interrogation. I have no intention of answering more, and I’m not in a leisurely enough situation to entertain questions.”
“...Mm.”
“Follow me. The painting is in my room.”
Ian stood up. He stroked the head of Amelia, who rose to follow him, and gave her a gentle smile.
“Are you coming?”
“Of course. I want to see the magic you use, oppa.”
“Alright, then follow. Don’t be surprised.”
“Yes!”
Amelia answered energetically. Ian withdrew his hand and led the way toward the room.
It was time to finish sinking fangs into the prey.
*
The car Darco was driving entered a small mountain on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province.
The unmaintained asphalt road was dotted with potholes.
There were no streetlights. As a result, darkness descended upon the mountain the moment the sun set. The city lights twinkled clearly in the distance, but the mountain where the car rolled on was filled only with shadows.
The car, which had been climbing toward the mountain’s peak for a long while, halted where the road ended. Darco parked the car skillfully, then turned to Irene sitting beside him.
“We’ve arrived. Let’s go.”
“...Where is this place?”
Irene asked sharply. Darco shrugged.
“A hideout only we know about, where others can’t find us. Someone built a cabin as a hobby, so we occupied it while scouting the area. We’ve also placed barrier stones Himari made all around, so no one can observe this place from outside.”
Himari.
Irene frowned, recalling the face of that Japanese woman with that name. Whether she did or not, Darco helped Irene out of the car. Mariang had already gotten out long ago and was waiting for the two.
“How long are you going to dawdle? Hurry up and guide us.”
“Yes, yes, Miss Mariang. Follow me. Irene, you too.”
Darco took Irene’s hand and stepped into the dark mountain interior. Irene didn’t refuse his touch.
Mariang clicked her tongue and followed them, and Irene’s creation, crawling on the ground, slithered along beside Irene.
Shortly after, a small cabin revealed itself before them.
To be precise, it was a mountain lodge in the shape of a cabin. It had been operational in the past but was now a closed-up abandoned lodge. Darco opened the door familiarly and entered.
Fortunately, one of Darco’s clones had been cleaning since morning, so the cabin wasn’t particularly dirty. Irene gazed at the surprisingly cozy space and calmly settled her eyes.
“...It has a vibe like my old home.”
“Glad to hear that.”
Darco smiled brightly and released Irene’s hand.
“There are four rooms in total, so I think we can each take one and use it. The only problem is there’s no running water, but that can’t be helped. Just make do somehow.”
“...”
“I’m tired, so I’ll go in first. Call me if anything happens. I’ll jump up and come even in my sleep.”
Wink.
Darco sent a wink toward Mariang and Irene, then entered his pre-chosen room. Mariang watched his retreating figure, let out a deep sigh, and opened any door and went in.
Creak, slam.
She shut the door forcefully. Now only Irene and her creation remained in the living room.
“...”
Irene stared blankly at the ceiling for a moment, then let out a puff of breath and rummaged through her pocket. A squishy sensation met her grasp.
“Hah.”
She let out a feverish smile and pulled out the object in her hand.
It was a piece of flesh. A dark red lump of flesh. A part of the conspirator’s body that had burst and died.
“Ah... beautiful.”
As she looked down at the flesh she had secretly taken, her cheeks flushed. Then suddenly, she stuck out her tongue and licked the surface of the flesh. It was an impulsive action.
“Hng!”
A tingling thrill raced along her tongue and stimulated her brain.
At that moment, a faint, fragmented voice seemed to reach her ears.
[...... ...ra.]
“...!”
Irene flinched in surprise and jumped up from her seat.
But all that surrounded her were the creations. Nothing else existed.
As soon as she realized this, an epiphany struck Irene.
“……No way.”
Her lips quivered as she gazed down at the piece of flesh on her palm. Then, as before, she carefully extended her tongue and licked its surface.
Simultaneously, the voice came again.
[……ou.]
“Huuuh…….”
Her eyes curved into crescent moons. The thrill of a correct guess heated Irene’s brain. She used her tongue to lick every part of the flesh’s surface.
[……ou. Don’t…… my.…… chi……ld.]
The blurred voice gradually became clearer. At the same time, blood vessels in her eyes burst with a popping sound.
Blood streamed like tears. A cutting pain, as if a knife were slicing her pupils, wracked her.
“……Haa.”
But rather than agony, Irene smiled at the corners of her lips and popped the flesh into her mouth. A tasteless, squishy lump of meat danced on her tongue.
[……ene. Don’t…… touch…… my…… child. ……ou.]
The voice grew even clearer. In tandem, her intelligence rapidly deteriorated, and her whole body began to tremble uncontrollably.
A fog settled over her mind, clouding her reasoning. Blood vessels quivered and snapped on their own. Bruises spread across her entire body.
Yet she ignored all of this and smiled in ecstasy.
“To me…….”
Irene murmured.
“Are you choosing me.”
She had impulsively licked the Schemer’s flesh, but the consequences were inevitable.
Having tasted the corpse of a being directly created by an Outer God without permission, she was now, in this moment, briefly connected to the Outer God itself. And from that alone, her body began to melt, starting from her feet.
[You bug. Don’t…… touch carelessly. My children can be touched only…… by my husband. I never…… allowed a thing like you.]
“Ahh, O God! Your voice, your guidance—to me as well! Make me into a perfect being!”
Gulp.
Irene finally chewed and swallowed the flesh she had been holding in her mouth.
The reaction was immediate.
[You bug. Don’t carelessly touch my child’s body. My children can only be touched by my husband. I never permitted a maggot like you.]
The clear voice slammed into Irene’s skull. At the same instant, her brain dissolved into sludge and leaked out through her ears and nose.
“Ah.”
Deprived of its brain, her body collapsed to the floor without resistance.
The sound was not a thud but a splat. Her melted lower half had already formed a black puddle.
[As I thought, you bugs are useless. Except for my husband, everything is just garbage.]
Black seawater filled the hollowed cavity of her skull. The flesh that had entered her stomach now flowed backward, burrowed through the roof of her mouth, and settled inside her skull. The flesh that replaced her brain wriggled and grew in size.
[I intended to merely watch if possible, but you have crossed the line. Foolish child.]
The Outer God’s tone shifted. The body without a brain stopped all organ function, then suddenly began operating explosively again. But the manner of its operation was no longer human.
[You said you wish to become a perfect being? Then I shall grant it. Just as that white deformed child often says.]
Boom!
Unable to withstand the aberrant organ activity, the flesh exploded like a bomb and reassembled itself. And into the ears of the body where a new ego began to bloom, the Outer God’s whisper seeped.
[Be reborn.]
Shhhhh!!
A thick fog erupted explosively from inside the mountain lodge.