Chapter 92: Shoot Towards Dawn (5)
Ronan couldn’t figure out why the person who had disappeared was wandering around here. However, he instinctively realized what he had to do. Step by step, his quiet footsteps followed her.
‘I’m really not good at following people.’
It was an untimely midnight stroll. The irregularly sprouted column-shaped bookshelves reminded him of primeval forest giants. An unusual chill hung in the air, unsuitable for summer.
‘…It’s like a damn haunted forest.’
Ronan twisted his lips. The library today felt eerie for some reason. It seemed as if the cries of trees murdered to make books were echoing in the air. Even the moonlight had a dim, decaying bluish hue. He frowned as he continued to follow the woman at a distance.
‘Damn, how far is she going?’
They had walked for more than twenty minutes, but she showed no signs of stopping. Ronan’s whole body was drenched in sweat. He had been walking quietly, concentrating on his footsteps. Then the woman suddenly came to a halt.
‘At last.’
Ronan held his breath and took a slow step back.
Thud!
Suddenly, the shadowy figure’s upper body bent backward, revealing her pale face. Ronan gasped when he saw the back of her head touching her waist.
‘…!’
It was a posture structurally impossible for a human. Her pupils were entirely black, and a strange voice emanated from her open mouth.
“Ah… Ahhh…”
Ronan quickly hid behind a column. His heart was pounding as if it would burst out of his chest. Swallowing the curse words that rose to his throat was no easy task.
‘What the fuck did I just witness?’
She resembled a creature closer to a monster than a human. Soon, the eerie voice stopped. Ronan, who had been holding his breath, cautiously raised his head. The woman had disappeared without a trace.
‘Where did she go…?’
No more footsteps could be heard. Ronan approached the spot where she had stood, hand resting on his sword hilt.
He carefully scanned the surroundings but couldn’t find any trace of her. Only dust floated in the eerie moonlight.
‘What the hell is going on?’
Ronan observed his surroundings intently. In the midst of the column-shaped bookshelves, the stone floor with an unknown name, and the faint trace of the woman’s presence, something caught his eye.
‘Come to think of it…’
Suddenly, he recalled entering Eyrie’s secret space a few days ago. She had opened the door leading to that space by pulling out a book from the bookshelf.
Perhaps it was the same here? Ronan once again explored the bookshelves. His gaze landed on a particular spot. On a book with the title [Stepping Back] there were traces of the woman’s mana, like fingerprints.
‘Found it.’
Ronan carefully pulled out the book. Surprisingly, the bookshelf didn’t move backward, nor did the floor sink, as he had expected.
Was this book not the one? Puzzled, he reached out to touch the bookshelf, but at that moment, his hand passed right through it.
“Huh?”
Ronan’s eyes widened. He waved his arms around, trying to feel something, but there was nothing to sense. The bookshelf had vanished, leaving only an empty illusion in its place.
‘They put in quite an effort, didn’t they?’
It was a high-level magic. After confirming the emptiness inside, Ronan stepped into the bookshelf. Before him lay a narrow, long staircase leading downwards.
‘I guess there’s no turning back now…’
Ronan slowly descended the stairs. The space between the 4th and 3rd floors seemed unbelievably deep. Surprisingly, there were no signs of traps or defensive magic. As he descended for a while, he furrowed his brow.
‘It’s so dark.’
Even the moonlight didn’t reach this corridor, making it impossible to see anything. Suddenly, a brilliant idea came to Ronan’s mind. He pulled out Lamancha. As he concentrated, a red glow started to emanate from his sword.
‘This will do.’
It wasn’t as bright as a torch, but it was better than nothing. Finally, the staircase disappeared, revealing a long corridor.
Though it was narrow enough for only two people to pass, it had a bizarre structure that reached a height of almost 4 meters. Ronan held his sword and continued walking. The woman’s presence still eluded him.
‘Anyway, what on earth is this place?’
Various hypotheses came to mind, but he couldn’t be sure. After all, the tower of mages were known for hiding many secrets. Lost in thought, he suddenly encountered a split in the path.
‘Dammit, is this a maze?’
Ronan clicked his tongue. It was one of the most annoying types of structures. He pondered which way to go. Suddenly, an eerie whisper echoed in Ronan’s ear.
[You are cursed.]
“What the fuck!”
This time, he couldn’t hold back. Ronan swung his sword in the direction of the sound.
Slash!
The horizontal strike left a red afterimage in the darkness.
Not feeling the sensation of cutting anything, Ronan swung his sword again. But there was nothing there. Once again, the voice echoed.
[Oh my~ Don’t you want to lift the curse that is binding you?]
“What?”
It was a neutral voice whose gender could not be distinguished, and now that he listened carefully, it seemed to resonate in his mind rather than in his ears. When he heard the word ‘curse’, Ronan furrowed his brow.
“Where are you speaking from?”
[Come to me. Whatever it is you desire, I will give it to you. Go to your right.]
The voice ceased. In a split second, the shock and fear Ronan had felt were rapidly transforming into anger.
“This is terrible, seriously…”
Ronan spat on the floor and changed his course to the right path. He had had enough of this nonsense. He didn’t know who was playing such a prank, but he intended to give them a piece of his mind.
[Left.]
[Center.]
[Yes, a little closer… to your left.]
At every intersection, the voice from before guided him. Ronan followed the directions obediently. If the woman was hiding here, it wouldn’t be easy to find her in such a complex interior structure. Then, a dead-end appeared.
“Now, where do I go?” Ronan was about to ask irritably when something caught his eye in front of the wall. A wooden pedestal that rose up to his waist had a single book resting on top of it.
“Is that…?”
It was a thick book, thick enough to use as a pillow. The cover was made of an unknown leather, exuding an eerie aura. Ronan’s face stiffened. The suspicion he had harbored all along had turned into certainty.
‘Forbidden Book.’
This was the very place Eyrie had warned about – the Forbidden Library where Forbidden Books were sealed. Ronan’s lips twisted as he stared at the book. He had finally realized why Eyrie had urged him to be cautious.
‘…I now get why she told me to be so careful.’
It was a powerful temptation just by its presence. Ronan had a gut feeling that reading this book might provide the answers he needed. He approached the book as if in a trance. The most important thing to him right now was breaking the curse.
‘Alright.’
Finally determined, Ronan turned over the cover. The text was written in unfamiliar characters, impossible for him to read.
‘Is this a script from another country?’
He turned the page. The same characters filled the pages, with several bizarre runic symbols scattered throughout.
‘What’s this…?’
As he brought his face closer to examine the writing, the text and runes suddenly glowed brightly, and tentacle-like appendages burst forth from the book.
“Huh?!”
[Muahahaha, caught you!]
Squirm!
Multiple tentacles quickly wrapped around Ronan’s body, leaving only his head exposed. An eerie laughter filled the air, just like the voice that had been guiding him earlier.
It was only now that Ronan realized that the entity that had been communicating with him was this book. His judgment, clouded by his obsession with breaking the curse, was quickly returning. This is what Eyrie meant when she said Forbidden Books devoured people.
[It’s already too late. Resistance is futile, so become a doll of Lord Langium willingly!]
“Fuck.”
Ronan cursed as the tentacles wrapped around him. His obsession with finding answers about the curse had clouded his judgment, but now he was regaining his focus. He asked a question as if he was sighing.
“You deceived me from the start, didn’t it?”
[You fool, there was never any mention of a curse in here.]
“Yes… that’s right.”
Just to be sure, Ronan asked, but the book confirmed his suspicion. At that moment, dozens of crimson lines appeared on top of the tentacles.
Squirm!
Violet blood fountains erupted along the lines, and the severed tentacles fell to the ground. A cry of surprise and confusion echoed.
[Wh-What happened?]
“Did you think you could trick me with a piece of paper?”
Ronan growled. He had already sliced through the tentacles before they could wrap around him. His decision was swift and ruthless. Now, free from the grasp of the tentacles, Ronan stood with his sword in hand.
Ronan plunged his sword straight into the book. Thwack! The tip of the sword plunged deep into the pages, and a chilling scream echoed from the book.
[Kyaaaah!]
“A paper is feeling pain, huh?”
[Die! Die!]
“What?”
As Ronan drew his sword to finish it off, the book suddenly gibbered in incomprehensible language. In an instant, the surroundings brightened, and Ronan’s back grew hot. He hastily turned his head. A wave of flames, composed of fireballs, filled the corridor and surged toward him.
“What is this…!”
It was a quite powerful magic, but it was not something he couldn’t handle. Ronan adjusted his stance and held his sword vertically. Squirm! The wave of fire split in half, flowing past him on both sides. The streams of fire converged on the book once more.
[Kyak! Kyaaaah!]
The book, engulfed in flames, screamed again. As Ronan blocked the incoming fireball to prevent such a situation, it became clear that he had carefully considered this possibility.
The screams gradually subsided, and silence filled the air. At the same time, the flames stopped. Ronan lowered his sword when he saw the woman standing on the other side of the corridor.
“So, it ended up like this.”
“Ah… Ahhh…”
Ronan lowered his sword as the fire subsided. On the opposite side of the corridor, he saw the woman standing, her eyes regaining their original color.
With a whimper, she collapsed to the floor. Ronan rushed to her side and supported her.
‘She was being controlled by the book.’
Judging by what the doll had mentioned, it was clear that she had been taken over in a similar context, possibly like the other missing people. They must have disappeared in this manner. Ronan looked at the remains of the completely destroyed Forbidden book.
“Idiot.”
It was truly a foolish end. While he had a mountain of questions he wanted answers to, rescuing people took priority. Ronan knelt beside the fallen woman.
“Come on, snap out of it.”
“Ugh… Aah…”
She didn’t seem to be in good shape. It looked like she needed medical attention urgently. Ronan had memorized the way back and, with that in mind, going back wasn’t too difficult. As soon as he exited the stairs, a blinding light flooded from above.
“What the hell?”
Ronan furrowed his brow. Judging by the darkness outside, it wasn’t yet opening hours. The distant murmurs of people could be heard.
“Is there a fire or something?”
The commotion seemed unusual. Just as he was about to move in the direction of the noise, a low voice, eerily echoing, filled the entire library.
【Interesting.】
Ronan froze in his tracks. An indescribable chill ran through his body. Something wicked and powerful was behind him.
‘What…!’
Turning his head seemed terrifying. He had to strike quickly. Ronan drew Lamancha and spun around.
Swish!
The flying blade pierced deep into the bookshelves.
“Huff, huff…”
Severed books fell to the ground. Ronan exhaled the breath he had been holding in. The entrance to the Forbidden Library had reverted to the original bookshelves.
‘What… just happened?’
The evil presence had disappeared without a trace. Ronan, still recovering from the shock, was caught off guard. The woman he had been supporting groaned once more.
“Ugh… Ugh.”
“Oh, shit. sorry.”
Ronan, who had belatedly regained his composure, rushed toward the direction of the sound. It didn’t take long for him to spot Eyrie. She had a bewildered expression on her face as she floated in mid-air. Ronan called out to her.
“Eyrie!”
“Master Ronan! Where have you been all this time? Who is she?”
“She’s one of the missing persons.”
“Really?”
“Let’s take her with us. She seems like she needs medical attention.”
Eyrie’s eyes widened in surprise. Ronan handed the woman over to Eyrie, who was struggling to keep up with the situation, and she stuttered.
“I-I need an explanation!”
“I’ll explain later, Eyrie. Did you hear any strange voices?”
“Strange voices?”
“Yes. It sounded horrible, like… never mind. A really low, grating voice. Did you hear anything like that?”
“I didn’t hear anything of that sort…”
Eyrie shook her head. Despite the overwhelming volume of the voice, it seemed like she hadn’t heard anything, just like during the previous encounter with Langium.
First, they needed to assess the current situation. Ronan, after taking a deep breath to calm his emotions, spoke again.
“Well… Anyway, what’s going on here? Why are all the lights on in the middle of the night?”
“We’ve captured the culprit of the airship incident.”
“I see. Well, I wanted to see their face, so this works out. Who is it?”
Ronan raised an eyebrow. After a brief hesitation, Eyrie spoke with a heavy tone.
“It’s the third daughter of the Gracia Family….”
“What?”
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