Chapter 25: Absolute Proposition (6)

“Clean, huh. They said everything was corrupted except the library.”

Lude climbed the stairs to the far end of the fourth floor, scanning his surroundings. The only passage up to the library, and the higher he went, the fewer of the vein-like monsters clung to the walls.

Where there were no people to drain life from, the spread of corruption slowed.

At first he assumed the library had survived simply because fewer people were inside when the building was overrun. But in truth, someone had been holding it at bay from within.

Lude pushed open the glass doors of the library. No vein-like growths. No foul stench. Nothing like the chaos downstairs. It was as if nothing had happened at all.

[If someone is hiding this well, they must be capable, Lord of Chaos muttered, glancing around.]

“Hmph. Even so, you cannot fool the eyes of someone who experienced the special effects in a Sanctuary mock battle.”

What Lude saw was a library suffused with crimson mana, lying low across the floor.

[This one is no ordinary opponent, Lord of Chaos chuckles.]

“A color-bearer, seriously?”

Lude laughed bitterly. Hunters who reached a certain level, S-rank or higher, manifested color in their powers. In all of Korea, there were only five known color-bearers, Lude himself included.

“If I drag this one out, the Hunter world will explode again.”

[The way the mana flows, this is clearly a mage’s workshop, Lord of Chaos tattles.]

“Oh it’s a mage? That just pisses me off. An unregistered color-bearer setting up a workshop in a public institution? All I ever did was forge a few documents.”

[That and this sound like crimes of the same weight, Lord of Chaos eyes you.]

“…It was one time. Okay? Just once, when I registered as an Awakener. Do you have any idea how law-abiding I am?”

Grumbling inwardly about how his double identity meant paying taxes twice, Lude sighed.

“Anyway.”

He lifted his head again, drawing a black half-scissors from his inventory. His expression turned cold.

“Hey. The stink of mana is thick here. Come out while I’m still asking nicely.”

No answer. The library stayed silent. Annoyed, Lude raised his brows, then drove the black scissors into the floor.

Crack. From the small hole, black spirit energy seeped out like mist. Lude stared straight at the library’s center.

“Listen, kid. Act like a gentleman. Otherwise I, the number one Hunter, will happily claim this workshop of yours. You know who I am, yes?”

Hunters had a saying: never enter a Ranger’s hunting ground, never step into a Mage’s workshop.

Because both were optimized environments for their owners, fighting inside one was suicide. Even the highest-rank Hunters could not guarantee victory against a Mage inside a perfected workshop. But…

“Aha, so you really are not coming out? Guess being a color-bearer makes you think you are above listening to me? You think number one is some pushover…”

[Trait: Natural Lucid Dream activates!]

[Entering dreamscape. Beware the transition.]

“Let’s see how long you last then, brat.”

Unlike ordinary Hunters, Lude was beyond the standard.

Boom—! His black energy roared violently through the library. Only then did the crimson mana flare up from hiding, clashing with it.

Lude’s black eyes glittered with amusement.

Both sides were color-bearers. And since mages required mental barriers anyway, he had no qualms about unleashing his skills openly.

He drew out the golden half-scissors, crossing them with the black. The black mist surged, swallowing the crimson mana in waves.

“I told you, didn’t I?”

Though the windows were shut, wind swirled through the library, tossing his bangs. His spirit energy and the mage’s mana wrestled for dominance.

“I said I would eat your workshop.”

The black energy clung to walls and shelves like dust, stripping away the red mana. Crimson powder burst from corners as the illusion dissolved, the library’s true form showing through.

Soon the dim, unkempt space appeared. Chairs toppled, shelves shoved aside. And then a young voice called out from above.

It was clearly the voice that reported the erosion gate, one that was still not fully mature.

“I choose you, Zepar!”

[Be careful, Lude. This time might be tricky, Lord of Chaos warns you.]

“What?”

Thud! From the ceiling, Kang Ihyun dropped down. Without a word, he summoned a golden holy sword, gripped it, and charged at Lude.

“Tch…!”

Clang! Almost by reflex, Lude caught the strike with his scissors.

‘It can’t be the real thing, so he’s a summoner type mage? He seems pretty strong too, I’m impressed he’s hidden the fact that he’s an Awakener for so long…! Did he practice or something!?’

Golden flame reflected in Lude’s eyes. For an instant he thought he had locked eyes with Ihyun, and his heart tightened painfully. His body froze.

It was a mental attack. Strong enough to even catch him, if only for a moment. Which meant this was not truly Ihyun, but an illusion.

The fake raised its sword to finish Lude who was paralyzed. He looked ready to strike any moment.

“You think a trick like this will work?”

Lude grabbed the fake’s collar as his hand was the first part of his body to be unparalyzed, and slammed his forehead against it.

Blue eyes met black. Within them Lude glimpsed the real presence, the mage hidden behind the puppet.

“Do not get conceited. You and I are not on the same level.”

With that final line, Lude triggered his trait.

[Trait: Fragment of the First Dream]

[You use the power of the constellation ◼◼◼◼.]

[You borrow the power of the Herald.]

[Herald ◼◼◼◼ Exclusive Skill :: Chaos always arises from within the human subconscious.]

Clang! The moment he caught the red mana inside those blue eyes, the illusion shattered. Ihyun’s figure vanished, and the library’s false peace was dissolved, revealing the real sight.

The floor was covered in ominous spell circles, the shelves shoved to the side. At the center was…

“Bleeghh!”

A male student wearing glasses, with a pink cloud-pattern lap blanket draped over his head, was sprawled on the floor retching.

He had clearly taken Lude’s mental assault head-on. After trembling for a long time, he got up with his legs still shaking.

“W-Wow. What was that earlier? That was supposed to be my finishing move, and you just brushed it off.”

He was tall, with sharp black hair and piercing crimson eyes. The name tag on his navy uniform read Min Jaeyoon.

“But I just found something interesting.”

Lude’s eyes narrowed. He had seen this face before... And then the boy grinned and said something shocking.

“You’re not mister, but a miss huh?”

Time stopped for a moment.

Or so Lude felt. The silence froze the air for several long seconds like a video being paused.

“...W-What are you talking about?”

[Mari, your voice cracked just now, Lord of Chaos sighs while shaking his head.]

“W-What? I didn’t—”

“Huh?”

Flustered, Lude answered out loud to the indirect message, and Min Jaeyoon arched a brow.

[Is this the end of Shin Bitnari's hidden-power lifestyle? Lord of Chaos snickers.]

‘No, no, that is impossible! This avatar is seriously flawless. Do you think anyone can make something like this?’

It was the ultimate skill of Nari, a high-level illusionist’s technique twisted and perfected. She alone could realize such avatars.

And yet, the ultimate skill… not only Ihyun but this boy had come dangerously close to seeing through it.

‘Two people already know now. And one of them sensed it without even seeing my real form. At this rate, my whole setup will collapse!’

Lude wanted to break the fourth wall and scream through it. He held his panic back and gazed at the male student in front of him. With a kind smile, the student spoke while waving his hand.

“Ah, ahhh, you don’t have to be so startled, big sis.”

“Sis…!”

Big sis! Lude’s body stiffened like a statue. Min Jaeyoon spoke to Lude again with a playful smile. Despite being years younger than him, the student’s sly attitude was downright irritating.

“Zepar is very precise in distinguishing such things. That’s the only reason I found out.”

“…”

“Normally, my magic would never touch the number one Hunter. But this is my workshop, you know? And Zepar is a true demon.”

“A-A true demon.”

Lude stared at the student in shock. The boy giggled and pulled something from inside his jacket.

A heavy red tome bound in gold and chains, weathered with age. Just from its looks, it was obvious the tome was very dangerous and old.

Even without reading the Latin title, Lude knew it instantly. The Lemegeton, the grimoire of Solomon’s seventy-two demons.

Jaeyoon laughed again in an annoying tone.

“And by the way, Zepar takes the form of whoever the target likes most. Hunter Kang Ihyun, huh? Guess you like him quite a bit~?”

“You—you—you—!”

[Calm yourself, Nari, Lord of Chaos gestures soothingly.]

Her face flushed red, ready to leap at him, but she forced herself down. Lude asked him a question after.

“Hey, do you have immunity to dark type mental attacks?”

“What? Come on, no way. There’s no such broken trait like that~”

“Did you register as an Awakener?”

“Nah. I’m just a strong student, pretending to be weak.”

“I’m glad then.”

“Eh?”

Lude raised her black scissors again. This time her face showed grim resolve. She had failed against Ihyun’s gaze, but she would not fail again no matter the cost!

“Then die here!”

“Uaaaagh!”

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