‘So this is the Main Hall of the Akashic Record.’

The moment Clay set foot inside, he was inwardly impressed.

And with good reason—just moments ago, the path Omni had shown them, a so-called “backdoor,” had given no hint of leading to such a space.

A stream.

Deep in the mountains, where the brook flowed quietly from the heights, Omni had led them to a shallow point and simply said:

—Jump in here.

The water didn’t seem more than a handspan deep. The word “jump” didn’t even seem appropriate. But with Omni urging him on, Clay went first, with Syltanaro transformed into a sword and fastened to his hip.

Splash!

What had looked so shallow turned out to be a depthless abyss.

Once submerged, the bottom could not be seen. Clay tried to swim, but found he couldn’t move forward—only remain where he was.

Breathing wasn’t an issue, so he waited. Soon after, Athanasia slipped in beneath the surface as well.

“Oh.”

Athanasia blinked in fascination.

“Even though we’re underwater, it doesn’t feel like we’re underwater at all.”

They could breathe, talk, and move freely. Clay hadn’t encountered many such distorted spaces before.

Then Omni entered.

His eyes gleamed with divine light, and a door suddenly appeared in front of Clay.

Anyone could tell this was the entrance to the Main Hall of the Akashic Record. As Omni nodded, Clay pushed the door open—

And arrived.

Inside the Akashic Record.

‘I thought I heard something.’

A faint presence had stirred Clay’s senses. He glanced around but couldn’t find anything.

‘Was it just my imagination?’

The Main Hall’s interior was unimaginably vast. Though it only contained important records from across the world, its scale was endless. The amount of information was staggering.

To run into Yuru right away in such a place was statistically improbable.

“For now, let’s move,” Omni said.

“You know where we need to go?” Clay asked.

“I don’t remember everything, but there are a few things I’ve made sure never to forget. What you’re looking for is one of them.”

“You created this place, yet you don’t know all of it?”

“I built the space, yes, but I didn’t insert most of the contents.”

Omni tilted his head.

“I don’t know why, but information began gathering here on its own. I just categorized what I thought was important. I can only assume what came together is important too.”

“You didn’t verify any of it?”

“If I could verify all of this, do you think I’d still be living as a crow?”

Omni sighed and fluttered his wings.

“Besides, most of what’s here can’t even be read. The recording methods are all over the place. Some are written in obscure dialects, others aren’t even letters. If you don’t have the insight to perceive the unknown, you might come away with nothing.”

“Yuru is able to do that?”

Athanasia narrowed her eyes.

“As ridiculous as it sounds… it seems she is,” Omni muttered.

“She surpassed the human limits of perception—even those of us ancient gods.”

“She must’ve reached the pinnacle of magical knowledge,” he continued in a low voice. “That alone could grant one the ability to comprehend the incomprehensible.”

“Origin.”

Athanasia’s face hardened as she muttered the term. Omni looked at her, then stretched one wing outward.

“Well, either way, what we’re looking for is this way. Let’s hurry.”

Following Omni’s lead, the group began walking. Clay continued to glance around with vigilance, which Syltanaro quickly picked up on.

『Lord Demon King, is something bothering you?』

“It’s not Yuru, but I keep sensing something. Something that’s not friendly.”

At that, Athanasia also turned her head.

“…Yeah. Something’s following us.”

She looked to Omni.

“Omni, fly up and check it out.”

“The sightlines here are limited, so I can’t see far—”

“Just do it.”

Omni grumbled under her stern tone but flapped upward nonetheless. He scanned the surroundings, then looked down and said:

“Nothing. I’ve never seen anything besides information itself here. It must just be—”

Whoosh.

Suddenly, a long arm, thin like a branch, shot out and grabbed Omni.

“!”

Clay instantly drew his sword—Syltanaro—as the arm’s owner revealed itself.

‘That thing…’

A grotesquely gaunt creature with elongated limbs. At a glance, it resembled a skeleton, but it wasn’t. Above its head floated a red halo.

“Help me!” Omni screamed.

“It’s got something on its head, but it’s not like me! That’s a Librarian!”

Librarian.

Even as he uttered that absurd word, Omni’s voice was deadly serious.

“They appear when the Akashic Record is spatialized! I put up a barrier to keep them out—how the hell did they get in—urk!”

The Librarian squeezed tighter. Whatever was going on, these beings were evidently hostile to anything other than information. Clay bent his knees into a ready stance.

“Omni, watch yourself.”

“W-wait—!”

Boom!

Clay burst off the ground, flying straight at the Librarian.

Clang!

His blade struck the creature’s neck—but didn’t cut.

The blow only scraped off it with a metallic screech.

As Clay gritted his teeth in midair, the Librarian turned and opened its jaws wide.

Fwooooom!

A deep crimson beam charged and fired at Clay.

『Lord Demon King!』

Syltanaro braced herself and blocked it, but the force was too much to completely negate.

Clay and Syltanaro were both blown back, crashing into a row of bookshelves.

KWA-A-A-ANG!

A deafening blast erupted, and clouds of dust rose into the air. Seeing it, Athanasia clenched her teeth.

“So they weren’t going to let us just take it, huh?”

The Akashic Record contained even information that couldn’t be recorded—essentially every event in existence. Even if limited to what was housed in this place, it was no surprise that such a force was being protected. If misused, the knowledge here could grant power capable of rewriting the future.

“That thing had to show up now of all times...!”

The timing was the problem. Omni had supposedly sealed them out, so how had it gotten in?

‘No way...’

A chill ran down Athanasia’s spine as a troubling thought surfaced.

‘Could it be… her?’

Yuru.

The one who had entered first using Omni’s halo.

If she had gone through the records and found a way to summon the Librarians, this situation would make perfect sense.

KWAANG!

While thoughts chased one another, the Librarian hurled Omni somewhere far off, stomped down hard, and let out a roar.

“That’s supposed to be a librarian?” Athanasia shuddered and raised her hand.

“I was trying not to go wild in here since we don’t know what information might be where, but...”

Now that it had come to this, securing safety came first.

“Guess I’ve got no choice.”

Ripples formed in the air where she focused. The ripples multiplied, each wave duplicating itself until dozens of projectiles had formed. She launched them all at the Librarian.

BOOM! BOOMBOOMBOOM!

The Librarian, caught in the barrage of air-shaking explosions, twisted and writhed as if being beaten senseless in place.

It let out a shrill screech and stumbled, knocking over nearby bookshelves and creating a chaotic mess.

“See, you should’ve just sat back and watched.”

Athanasia scoffed.

“Why show up just to mess everything up?”

If only it had stayed quiet—but the Librarian regained its posture without even falling and turned its gaze straight toward her.

It flung the dazed Omni aside and charged.

Its grotesquely unbalanced body moved with shocking speed.

“Ghk?!”

The Librarian clutched Athanasia’s face and slammed her into a bookshelf.

“Guh...”

She groaned, her body folded into the shelf like a closed book.

『My Lord? My Lord, are you all right?!』

Hearing Syltanaro’s voice, Clay raised himself into a seated position. Athanasia was not far off.

“So there is a buff here...” Clay muttered.

Just as Lutan received blessings in Krata and grew stronger, beings often became more powerful in their own domain.

“But even that has its limits.”

That was probably why Omni’s original barrier had once kept them out.

“Omni!”

Clay shouted toward the unseen crow.

“Tell me how to push the Librarian out of the barrier!”

FWOOSH!

A moment later, Omni shot out like a ball and tumbled to the ground beside Clay.

“Ugh, my body...”

“If you made it here the moment I called, then there must be a way.”

“Yeah...”

Omni gasped for breath.

“There’s a book here with ‘Administrator’ written on it. If you find it and claim the rights to manage this place, it’ll work.”

“Why didn’t you just keep it on you?”

“I didn’t lose it. Once a power from that book is used, it vanishes. It doesn’t go far, but ‘nearby’ in here is still way too broad.”

“You’re just now telling me this?”

“Even if I told you, it’s not like you’d find it quickly anyway.”

Omni sounded frustrated.

“Normally the Librarian carries it. Judging by how it doesn’t have it now... I must’ve taken it before and used it.”

“So this is... revenge?”

“No, just saying there’s nothing else we can do.”

Omni muttered like he was offering a last resort.

“If your attacks don’t work, we need to retreat and regroup. Let's leave and come back with another method.”

“......”

“My Lord?”

“No.”

Clay rejected the proposal.

“We don’t know what Yuru will do. I have to get something out of this place, and I have to drive her out too.”

He couldn’t afford to abandon this trove of knowledge.

“And don’t worry—I’ve found it.”

Clay turned his head and fixed his eyes somewhere. Omni followed his gaze—and his beak dropped.

“T-that’s...!”

Standing in the distance was a blue-haired, blue-eyed mage—

Holding the book titled Administrator.

“Long time no see, Brother.” Yuru smiled softly.

“Want to borrow a book?”

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