An otherworldly grimoire.
Eunha was not so stupid that she failed to understand what that meant.
A chaos not born on Earth. A disgusting crystallization born from nothing but pure malice, fundamentally choosing and selecting the wicked. A calamity from outer space that drove the mind into derangement with the mere act of seeing it, spreading madness without distinguishing between its owner and those around them.
“…….”
From the past to the present, there had only ever been two times that a grimoire of an Outer God had been discovered.
The grimoires known respectively as [Mystic Apocalypse] and [The Drowning of R’lyeh].
The owner of Mystic Apocalypse had been a monk and mage who participated in the Hundred Years’ War. He had been an extremely diligent man, but he became obsessed with the knowledge of the Outer Gods, killed every last one of his comrades around him, turned them into Mysteries, and ruled over them. He was subjugated afterward, but at the place where he died, the delighted laughter and madness of an Outer God melted out, killing every living thing in the area.
That was the first recorded observation of an Outer God’s grimoire. Through that, the existence known as the Outer Gods began to be properly known to the Clock Tower and the world, and people who went mad while analyzing it appeared one after another.
And the second.
The one who obtained The Drowning of R’lyeh was an ordinary mage of the Clock Tower. Unlike the first case, however, even after obtaining the grimoire, she did not abuse it, but personally recorded all information related to it. Almost all information currently known about the grimoires of the Outer Gods was written by her.
Though she ultimately went mad and carried out a massacre, her records were of great help to mages.
It was not because that person was virtuous. Rather, it was precisely because she was a lump of pure evil who would do anything to pursue knowledge that she had been able to do so.
Eunha had also read the contents of the records she had written.
[Once one opens and reads an Outer God’s grimoire, there is no turning back. They immediately fall into becoming the Outer God’s plaything, acting according to their will, and before long, incomprehensible muttering, murderous intent, and curses begin to bloom in their head. It is impossible to resist. Therefore, any being who possesses an Outer God’s grimoire must be subjugated.]
The record ended like that. Since Eunha had read it right after obtaining Lemegeton, she still remembered it clearly even now.
But……
‘For someone who supposedly has an Outer God’s grimoire, his aura is too…… ordinary.’
Eunha did not know exactly what Lemegeton had sensed. However, from what she could see, that mage’s aura was utterly ordinary.
Ever since she had obtained a spell that could distinguish evil from good through a contract with a demon, she used it whenever necessary, and the man’s figure reflected in those eyes was also closer to neutral or good than evil.
He was not a perfectly virtuous sage, but he was not so dangerous a person that she had to say, “Run away.” Unless he was the very crystallization of purity, afflicted by a personality disorder that made him incapable of feeling emotion and thus irrelevant to whether he was good or evil. But there was no sign of that at all, so there was no reason to go out of her way to antagonize and push him away.
“……Aren’t you mistaken?”
In the end, after finishing her search, Yu Eunha muttered so in a small voice.
But Lemegeton’s opinion was firm.
[No, I’m certain. That mad thing has not one, but two otherworldly grimoires. That means he is no ordinary person. He must have committed mass slaughter or a crime equivalent to it. Every one of those who possessed an Outer God’s grimoire committed such acts as naturally as breathing!]
“……I don’t think so?”
[I’m telling you, I’m right! Pheromones are coming out! That mage has the power to attract grimoires! That must be why even the Outer Gods had their eyes on him! Grrk, had I not had you as my owner, I might have found him interesting as well……! What a poisoned chalice this is……!]
Leaving Lemegeton to rave on its own, Yu Eunha looked at Ian, who was coming over while pushing his bike.
Just in case, she checked once more with magic, but even now, his appearance reflected in her eyes was nothing but ordinary.
An alien aura? None.
A sinister aura? None of that either.
An aura of a good person? None, but neither was there an aura of a bad person.
Just an ordinary human being. That was all.
Perhaps, just perhaps, he might be a person closer to evil. She had finished checking with magic and had verified it before, but there was not absolutely zero possibility that he had pierced through an extremely wicked probability and become evil. However, even so, at the very least, it was not enough to make such a fuss over.
In the end, Eunha let out a deep sigh and tapped Lemegeton, which she had tucked into the inner pocket of her padded jacket, with her hand.
“I checked, but I don’t see any particular problem. Even if he isn’t a perfect virtuous person, he isn’t evil either. I don’t think he committed the crimes you mentioned, Lord Solomon.”
[Eunha! You must trust me! You have to respect me!]
“It’s not that I don’t believe you, Lord Solomon. An Outer God’s grimoire? He might have one. It might be dangerous. But I’m really only going to cast a spell on him for a moment and leave, so it won’t be that dangerous. And…… even if something does happen, I’m not a mage who would be taken down that easily.”
[……Eunha.]
“You trust me, don’t you, Lord Solomon?”
[…….]
Solomon did not answer. That, more than anything, served as the clearest answer.
“……Are you the Godmother?”
In the meantime, Ian, who had parked the motorcycle by the roadside, spoke to her. The Godmother withdrew the hand with which she had been tapping Lemegeton and nodded.
“Yes. Nice to meet you.”
“……I’m asking just in case, but you didn’t bury someone nearby, did you? Your clothes are……”
Ian’s gaze swept over Eunha’s outfit once.
Not a single bit of skin was visible. Wearing gloves could be because the weather was cold, but completely covering even her face was not ordinary no matter how he looked at it. She looked so suspicious that he could believe she had just buried a corpse somewhere nearby.
‘Don’t tell me what she said on the gallery was true?’
That thought crossed his mind for a moment, but since he felt no hostility from her, he relaxed the power in his eyes.
Still, so he could respond at any time, he toyed with the Knowledge-Eating Paper he had kept in his pocket. No matter how great a mage she was, if he emptied her head cleanly, there would be nothing she could do.
While Ian was thinking that, the Godmother, who had been silent for a moment, opened her mouth.
“……I didn’t bury anyone. And I don’t really like jokes like that.”
A beautiful voice, far more delicate than he had expected.
He had wondered, but it seemed she really was a woman after all.
It was not particularly important, so he nodded and immediately tapped the bike with his palm.
“The bike is here. Can you use the spell right away? Or do you need some preparation?”
“I can use it right away. Before that, I’ll make a brief covenant.”
There was no time to ask what kind of covenant she meant. The Godmother suddenly summoned a crimson grimoire above her palm and began to chant.
“O thou presiding one. Under the name of God, I offer this covenant, and swear that there shall not be a single trick nor error in my magic.”
Saaaaa……!
The moment she spoke, a crimson pentagram rose from her grimoire. The rotating pentagram floated slightly into the air, then drew out a long arm from within it. The pale arm placed its hand precisely on the Godmother’s head and murmured softly.
[Received.]
With those words, the arm vanished. Ian inwardly exclaimed in admiration and narrowed his eyes.
‘Did she summon a demon? No, rather than that, it seems like she used part of the power of a demon she’s already contracted with.’
Summoning magic absolutely required either a sacrifice or something to serve as a medium for the summoning. The summoning techniques Ian used had extremely cheap prices, but those were not spells written in Lemegeton. Since it handled and made use of beings known as demons, the materials required were also quite complicated.
Needless to say, there were animal carcasses, but also poisoned knives, skinned snakes, heads of feline beasts, and so on. There were many bizarre and unusual things among them. The worst even demanded humans.
There was no way such summoning techniques could be used in that manner. Therefore, it would be right to assume that she had used the power of a demon she had already contracted with long ago.
‘I can’t recklessly fight her unless I know how many demons she has contracted with.’
He was not very knowledgeable about the seventy-two demons of Solomon, but he did know that some among them were extremely specialized for combat.
For example, Flauros could freely manipulate fire, while Vepar and Focalor could control the sea at will. Aside from them, there were also ones who could alter perception or forcibly make someone fall into lust or love.
He did not know whether it was possible to handle them simultaneously, but there was no need to go out of his way to take a risk in a situation where he was uncertain.
Above all, the fact that she had survived until now as the owner of that very “Lesser Key of Solomon” was itself proof that guaranteed her skill. In a world where the likes of grimoire hunters openly roamed about, there was no need to explain just how seasoned she must be.
“The covenant was carried out safely. With this, it’s as good as impossible for me to tamper with your bike. Please be at ease.”
The Godmother spoke. She tucked Lemegeton back into her arms and hesitantly, slowly approached the bike. Ian naturally stepped aside for her.
He did not doubt her covenant. If it was magic used on an object, it tended to be difficult to distinguish whether it had succeeded or failed when it activated, but a spell as intuitive as a demon’s arm openly popping out could be recognized as a success or failure by any skilled mage.
And from what Ian saw, her magic had succeeded without any errors.
After confirming that, he smiled faintly and lowered his head slightly.
“There was no need to go that far. Thank you.”
“It’s fine. I don’t like pointless power games either. It’s better to just earn trust all at once.”
It was something only a seasoned strong person could say. Ian gave a bitter smile and watched as she placed her hand on the bike.
“By the way, you use polite speech. The mages I’ve met so far all spoke casually.”
“That may be the standard, but I personally prefer this way.”
“Isn’t there a rumor that mages who use polite speech are all either lunatics or deranged sexual deviants?”
“……That’s true, but I’m not.”
The Godmother turned her head slightly toward Ian.
“Still, be careful. If any mage other than me uses polite speech, you should basically ignore them. That’ll be better for your safety.”
It was absurd how she subtly excluded herself, but Ian smiled faintly and nodded.
“Understood. I’ll keep that in mind. More importantly, would it be all right if I used polite speech like you? Since you broke the unwritten rule first, it shouldn’t matter, right?”
“Uh…… Do as you like. I suppose you’re more comfortable with polite speech originally?”
“I was, until I became a mage. I’ve gotten somewhat used to it now, but…… I still don’t particularly prefer it.”
Ian waved his hand through the wind blowing with snow mixed in and continued speaking.
“Then, I’ll be in your care for the spell, Lady Godmother.”
“……Yes.”
The Godmother answered and took out a pen.
Then, just like that, she engraved a magic circle onto the body of the bike he had just purchased.
Screeech.
A pure white line was drawn across the black bike.
“…….”
Ian’s face twisted violently.